U.S. Naval High Frequency Direction Finding Sites during World War I and World War II. Part 1 Updated: 01 Jun 08 ======================================================================================== Station Opened Closed/Disestablished ======================================================================================== Adelaide River, Northern Territory, Australia Adelaide River is a township lying 116 kilometers south of Darwin, on the main north- south road from the capital to the railhead at Alice Springs. The town of Adelaide River is located where the Stuart Highway crosses the Adelaide River in the Northern Territory of Australia. At the 2001 census, Adelaide River had a population of 229. During World War II, Adelaide River was the headquarters of a large base near the town, where there were up to 30,000 Australian and U.S. soldiers based. There is a war cemetery near the town, which was created especially for the burial of servicemen who died in this part of Australia. Many of those who died during the Japanese bombing of Darwin in WWII are buried here. The Adelaide River War Cemetery houses the Northern Territory Memorial, which commemorates members of the Australian Army, the Royal Australian Air Force, the Australian Merchant Navy and the Services Reconnaissance Department, who lost their lives in operations in the Timor and Northern Australian regions, and in waters adjacent to Australia, and who have no known grave. Naval Supplementary Radio Station (DF RI) 25 Mar 1943 21 Sep 1945 Adelaide River, Australia =================================================================================== Alpena, Lower Peninsula, Michigan The city of Alpena is on the shore of Lake Huron's Thunder Bay, with Alpena Township surrounding it on land. It is the county seat of Alpena County. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 11,304. The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is located offshore near the city. Incorporated in 1871, the City of Alpena overlooks Lake Huron's picturesque Thunder Bay. The wood, cement, and heavy machinery industries of Alpena stemmed from a long industrial heritage, that started with logging of the 1800s. Despite its small population, it is by far the largest city in sparsely populated Northeast Michigan's lower peninsula, serving as its commercial and cultural hub. It is considered to be one of the two anchor cities of Northern Michigan, along with Traverse City. The Alpena Regional Medical Center is a federally designated rural regional medical referral center, and is the largest employer in the city. The region, known as the Sunrise Side, from its location on the east shoreline of Michigan, was first a site of commercial fishing activity and is still home to extensive commercial fishing activities. Later the region, like much of Michigan, was shaped by the logging era of the 1800s. Today, Alpena is known for its limestone quarry, one of the largest in the world, owned and operated by the Lafarge corporation and is a major cement manufacturer and exporter. Alpena is also the world headquarters of Besser Company, a manufacturer of concrete block machines. Tourism (fishing, hunting, camping and a variety of water sports) is also important to Alpena's economy. Ottawa and Ojibway Native Americans inhabited the northeast lower peninsula of Michigan during the Woodland and historic cultural stages. Ojibway villages in the Thunder Bay region during the 1800s, included Mujekewis, Shoshekonawbegoking, and Sagonakato on the north shore of the Bay, and Shingabawassin on the south shore. Native Americans became an integral part of the regional economy in northern Michigan during the late 1800s. They worked at mining and lumber camps, on survey crews, as stevedores on vessels plying the Great Lakes, and as mail carriers. Fishing remained an important occupation, and some hunting and trapping also continued in this region. Other Native Americans produced traditional craft items for sale, or found seasonal and factory work in Michigan cities and towns. The Thunder Bay region was purchased from Native Americans by the federal government in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw. Although some land was used as a reservation area, European settlement soon pushed Native American villages inland to Mikado and Hubbard Lake. By the 1850s, the Alpena area became a center for fur trading, fishing, and lumbering. Most of the early settlers in the Alpena area were from New York and New England, but the lumber camps later attracted Swedes, Norwegians, and French-Canadians to the area. The Europeans who first entered the Great Lakes region quickly found their own small craft to be unwieldy in the new environment. As a consequence, they soon adapted the technology of Native Americans to their own needs. European explorers, missionaries, soldiers, settlers, and traders all traveled in their own versions of Native American canoes. The town at the head of Thunder Bay that would eventually become known as Alpena was first laid out in 1840, and named "Animickee," Chippewa for "Thunder" in honor of the Chippewa Chief with whom Henry R. Schoolcraft signed the 1826 treaty through which the government obtained the land and its forest and mineral bounty. Alpena County was founded originally in 1840 as Anomickee County. In 1843, the name was changed to Alpena, a pseudo-Native American word meaning something like "a good partridge country." This was part of a much larger effort to rename a great many of the Michigan counties at the time. Alpena County was officially organized in 1857. As Lumbermen began expanding their vision to Lake Huron's northwestern shores, an increasing number of lumber hookers began seeking the entrance to the Thunder Bay River, and the seemingly limitless forests that spread across the hills surrounding the bay. By the close of the 1850's, the cry of lumbering interests rose to push for improvements at the growing settlement, and in late 1857 a group of influential lumber barons signed a petition requesting that the Federal Government appropriate funds for the construction of a pier and lighthouse at the river mouth. The Lighthouse Board dispatched a survey crew to the area in 1866 to identify the most appropriate location for the construction of a new Light to guide vessels into the river. Selecting Trowbridge Point, 1 1/4 miles to the northeast of the river, as the best location, the Board requested an appropriation of $10,000 for the construction of the new Light. Congress followed the Lighthouse Board's recommendation and appropriated $10,000 for the construction of the lighthouse on Trowbridge Point on March 2, 1867. the Lighthouse Board changed its recommended location for the Light in its 1867 annual report, stating that "subsequent examination has shown that the proper site is at or near the mouth of the river, into which vessels and steamers now regularly pass to the town of Alpena. This town, which is said to contain two thousand inhabitants, and is rapidly increasing in size, is situated at the mouth of the river". Congress approved the site change on July 20, 1868, and a private contractor began working on the piers at the mouth of the harbor. With construction of the piers drawing close to completion in 1877, plans were drawn up for a permanent beacon on a timber crib, to be constructed on the north pier. The plan called for a brown painted, timber-framed pyramid structure, the upper two-thirds of which were enclosed to create a watch room and a service room below. Above the watch room, a square gallery with iron railing was constructed, on which a prefabricated decagonal cast iron lantern, with sixth order Fresnel lens, was centered. The new light was visible for a distance of 10 miles out in the bay. Construction was completed in July, 1877. The Alpena Breakwater Light, on Lake Huron, at the entrance to Thunder Bay River was first lit on the evening of August 18, 1877. That same summer, a site for a permanent dwelling for the Keeper was selected close to the pier, with the structure completed that fall. On July 12 1888, a fire started in one of the sawmills along the river. Fueled by high winds and the huge stacks of lumber along the river bank. The fire destroyed over two hundred homes as it swept across the town. The fire traveled along the wooden pier and completely destroyed the woodwork of the both the crib and lighthouse, along with everything contained within, including the Sixth Order lens and lamp. The keeper and his wife fought all night and saved the dwelling. As a result of the tight fiscal constraints, materials were not readily available for the station's reconstruction. The lantern was removed from the abandoned North Point Light in Milwaukee. Shipped to the Detroit depot, it was completely refurbished. A fourth order Fresnel lens that had been ordered for the planned lighthouse at Two Harbors was taken out of storage for temporary use at Alpena. The lantern, lens, construction materials and a work crew were loaded on the lighthouse tender Amaranth and delivered to Alpena, where construction began immediately. The new light was first exhibited on the night of October 1, 1888, and the work crew finished construction and departed for the Detroit depot on October 6, 1888. In 1914, the old wooden beacon had deteriorated beyond repair, and the decision was made to replace the decrepit structure. The design selected was somewhat similar to that which had been used on the Breakwater at Marquette. Erected atop a new concrete pier, the structure consisted of a four-legged pyramid skeleton tower, surmounted by a circular watch room. An octagonal lantern erected atop this watch room was encircled by an iron gallery with a tubular safety railing. A temporary lens lantern was suspended on the old beacon while the Fourth Order lens and automated fog bell apparatus were carefully disassembled and moved to the new structure, where the lens was installed in the lantern. With reliable electricity available in the city, a power cable was run to the new light, and hooked up to a 320 candlepower incandescent bulb within the lens. After receiving a coat of black paint, the structure was complete, and the new Light was exhibited for the first time on the evening of June 26, 1914. In order to increase its usefulness as a day mark, the structure was painted red in the 1950's. With the launch of Sputnik on October 4, 1957, locals noted the similarity of their beloved light station to the Soviet satellite, and the structure came to be widely known by the nickname Sputnik. Alpena Breakwater Light was automated in 1974, is currently operational and is now surrounded by the Alpena Municipal Marina. Six lighthouses are located within or near the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Of these six, all but the Old Presque Isle Light continue to serve as navigational aids to commercial and recreational vessels passing through the region. They include the Old Presque Isle Lighthouse, the New Presque Isle Lighthouse, the Middle Island Lighthouse, the Thunder Bay Island Lighthouse, the Alpena Thunder Bay River Lighthouse (Alpena Breakwater Light) and the Sturgeon Point Lighthouse. Traditional ways of life and the activities of the inland shore fishery have been altered by modern culture, development, and technology. Nonetheless, Ottawa and Ojibway treaty rights to fish for subsistence and commercial purposes on the Great Lakes were reaffirmed by Federal Court decisions in 1979 and 1981. Much of northwestern Lake Huron was declared a tribal fishing area based on Federal Court interpretation of the 1836 Treaty at Washington. Navy Direction Finding Station, Alpena, MI at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Alpena, MI =================================================================================== Amchitka Island, Alaska Amchitka is a volcanic, tectonically unstable island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. It is about 68 kilometers long, and varies from 3 to 6 km in width. It is bounded by the Bering Sea to the north and east, and the Pacific Ocean to the south and west. Amchitka has a maritime climate, often foggy and windswept, with many storms, with overcast skies and cloud cover 98 percent of the time. The island was populated for more than 2,500 years by the Aleut people, but has had no permanent population since 1832. It was included in the Alaska Purchase of 1867, and has since been part of the United States. During World War II, it was used as an airfield by U.S. forces in the Battle of the Aleutian Islands. In June 1942, the Japanese occupied some of the western Aleutian islands, and hoped to occupy Amchitka. Eager to remove the Japanese, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff agreed to move quickly to regain the territory. American planners decided to build a series of airfields to the west of Umnak, from which bombers could attack the invading forces. The U.S. Army established bases at Adak and 13 other locations. At the War Department's suggestion, an initial reconnaissance of Amchitka was carried out in September 1942, which found that it would be difficult to build an airstrip on the island. Nevertheless, planners decided on December 13, 1942, that the airfield "had to be built" to prevent the Japanese from doing the same. A further reconnaissance mission visited Amchitka on December 17=19, 1942, and reported that a fighter strip could be built in two to three weeks, and a main airfield in three to four months. American forces made an unopposed landing on Amchitka on January 11, 1943. Despite facing difficult weather conditions and bombing from the Japanese, the airfield was usable by February 16, 1943. On February 24, 1943, U.S. Naval Air Facility, Amchitka was established. The military eventually built numerous buildings, roads, and a total of three airstrips on Amchitka Island, some of which would later be renovated and used by the Atomic Energy Commission. At its peak, the occupancy of Amchitka Island reached 15,000 troops. The Aleutian Islands campaign was successfully completed on August 24, 1943. In August, 1943, a U.S. Navy strategic High Frequency Direction Finding (NFDF) and intercept station was established on Amchitka Island, which remained until February, 1945. The U.S. Army abandoned the site in August, 1950. The site later hosted a U.S. Air Force weather station in the early 1950s, through 1954; a White Alice telecommunication system from 1959 to 1961; and a temporary communications relay station in the 1960s and 1970s. The Department of Defense and The Atomic Energy Commission occupied Amchitka from 1964 to 1966. Project Long Shot, a nuclear device, was detonated on October 29, 1965, and the yield was 80 kilotons. The purpose of the detonation was to determine the behavior and characteristics of seismic signals generated by nuclear detonations. It was the first underground test in a remote area, and the first test managed by the DoD. The Department of Energy (DoE) withdrew from the island in 1973, though scientists continued to visit the island for monitoring purposes. In 2001, the DoE returned to the site to remove environmental contamination. Naval Supplementary Radio Station Amchitka Island, AK Aug 1943 Feb 1945 =================================================================================== Antigua, British West Indies Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda, Leeward Islands, Lesser Antilles, West Indies Antigua is an island in the West Indies, Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. It is also known as Wadadli, which means approximately "our own". The island is roughly 54 miles in circumference, with an area of 108 square miles, and had an estimated population of about 69,000 as of July 2006. It is the largest of the Leeward Islands, and the most developed and prosperous, due to its upscale tourism industry, offshore banking, internet gambling services and education services, including two medical schools. Over 31,000 people live in the capital of St. John's. The capital is situated in the northwest, near VC Bird International Airport, and has a deep harbour which is able to accommodate large cruise ships. Other leading population settlements are All Saints (3,412) and Liberta (2,239), according to the 2001 Census. English Harbour on the southeastern coast is famed as a "hurricane hole" (protected shelter during violent storms) and is the site of a restored British colonial Naval Station. The latter is called "Nelson's Dockyard". Nelson was at the time a Captain and in correspondence made it clear he would prefer not to be there, but rather facing the French. Today, English Harbour and the neighbouring village of Falmouth are an internationally famous yachting and sailing destination and provisioning center. At the end of April and the beginning of May, Antigua Sailing Week, an annual world class regatta, started in 1967, brings many sailing vessels and sailors to the island. As one of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, Antigua is considered by many to have the best climate in the Caribbean. This island, discovered by Columbus in 1493, is comprised of large peaks, rolling hills, and fine sandy beaches accentuated by rough rocky coasts. During the Second World War, a U.S. Naval Auxiliary Air Facility was established at Antigua, in the British West Indies on February 1, 1942. In February, 1943, a U.S. Naval Supplementary Radio Station, with a strategic High Frequency Direction Finding (NFDF) mission, was established on Antigua. The HFDF Station closed in December, 1944. Naval Facility (NAVFAC) Antigua, a U.S. Integrated Undersea Surveillance System (IUSS), Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) station was commissioned on Antigyua on August 9, 1956. After operating for more than twenty seven years, NAVFAC Antigua was decommissioned February 4, 1984. Antigua is a recognized center for on-line gambling companies. Antigua was one of the first nations to legalize, license and regulate on-line gaming. Some countries, most notably the United States, argue that because the gaming transaction is initiated in their jurisdictions, that the act of on-line wagering is illegal. This argument has been repudiated by the World Trade Organization. However in 2006. the U.S. Congress voted to approve the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act which criminalizes the operations of offshore gaming operators, which take wagers from American-based gamblers. Naval Supplementary Radio Station (DF) Antigua Feb 1943 Dec 1944 =================================================================================== Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is an urban county of about 203,000 residents in northern Virginia, directly across the Potomac River from Washington, DC. Technically, it is inaccurate to refer to Arlington as a city. All cities within the state of Virginia are independent of counties, though towns may be incorporated within counties. However, Arlington has no existing incorporated towns, because Virginia law prevents the creation of any new municipality within a county that has a population density greater than 1,000 persons per square mile. Arlington is considered a central city of Washington, DC, along with neighboring Alexandria. At a land area of 26 square miles, it is geographically the smallest self governing county in the United States. Arlington is the location of Arlington National Cemetery, the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and the Pentagon. There are numerous unincorporated neighborhoods within Arlington County that are commonly referred to by name in the media and local population, as if they were distinct towns. The county characterizes these neighborhoods as "urban villages". They are usually centers with commercial activity, particularly those located at Metrorail stations, shopping malls, office building complexes and other major transportation corridors. These include: Ballston, Clarendon, Courthouse, Crystal City, Lyon Village, Palisades, Pentagon City, Rosslyn, Shirlington, Virginia Square, Westover and Williamsburg Circle. These neighborhoods are not shown on maps. Once part of Fairfax County in the Virginia Colony, the area that contains Arlington County was ceded to the new U.S. government by the Commonwealth of Virginia. In 1791, the U.S. Congress formally established the limits of the federal territory that would be the nation's capital as a square of 10 miles on a side, the maximum area permitted by the U.S. Constitution. However, the legislation that established these limits contained a clause that prohibited the federal government from locating any offices within the portion of the territory that Virginia had ceded. When Congress moved to the new District of Columbia in 1801, it enacted legislation that divided the District into two counties: (1) the county of Washington, which lay on the east side of the Potomac River, and (2) the county of Alexandria, which lay on the west side of the River. Alexandria County contained the present area of Arlington County, then mostly rural, and the settled town of Alexandria (now "Old Town" Alexandria), a port located on the Potomac River in the southeastern part of the area of the present City of Alexandria. The town of Alexandria had been a port and market for the slave trade. With growing talk of abolishing slavery in the nation's capital, some Alexandrians feared the local economy would suffer if the federal government took this step. At the same time, there arose in Virginia an active abolitionist movement that created a division on the question of slavery in Virginia's General Assembly. Subsequently, during the Civil War, Virginia's division on the slavery issue led to the formation of the state of West Virginia by the most anti-slavery counties. Pro-slavery Virginians recognized that Alexandria County could provide two new representatives who favored slavery in the General Assembly, if the County returned the Commonwealth. As a result, a movement grew to separate Alexandria County from the District of Columbia. After a referendum, the county's residents petitioned the U.S. Congress and the Virginia legislature to permit the county to return to Virginia. The area was retroceded to Virginia in a July 9, 1846, act of Congress, that took effect in 1847. In 1852, the independent City of Alexandria was incorporated from a portion of Alexandria County. This led to occasional confusion, as the adjacent county and municipal entities continued to share the name of "Alexandria". Alexandria County renamed itself in 1920, as Arlington County. The new name was borrowed from Arlington National Cemetery. Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is an American military cemetery established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's home, Arlington House (also known as the Custis-Lee Mansion). It is located directly across the Potomac River from Washington, DC, north of the Pentagon. With nearly 300,000 people buried there, Arlington National Cemetery is the second largest national cemetery in the U.S. Veterans from all the nation's wars are buried in the cemetery, from the American Revolution through the military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Pre-Civil War dead were re-interred after 1900. For 30 years, Arlington House was home to Robert E. Lee and his family. The U.S. Government confiscated Arlington House and 200 acres of ground from the wife of General Robert E. Lee during the Civil War. The government designate the grounds as a military cemetery on June 15, 1864, In 1882, after many years in the lower courts, the matter of the ownership of Arlington National Cemetery was brought before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court ruled that the property rightfully belonged to the Lee family. The U.S. Congress appropriated the sum of $150,000 for the purchase of the property from the Lee family. Town of Potomac The Town of Potomac was formerly located in Arlington County adjacent to the massive Potomac Yard of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad. A planned community, its proximity to Washington DC, made it a popular place for employees of the U.S. government to live. Potomac was developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The town was annexed by the independent city of Alexandria in 1930. Today, in Alexandria, the Town of Potomac Historic District designates this historic portion of the city, and includes 1,840 acres and 690 buildings. The Town of Potomac was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. The Pentagon The Pentagon in Arlington, is the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was dedicated on January 15, 1943, and it is the world's largest office building. Although it is located in Arlington, the U.S. Postal Service requires that "Washington, DC" be used as the place name in mail addressed to the ZIP codes assigned to The Pentagon. The building is pentagon shaped and houses about 23,000 military and civilian employees and about 3,000 non-defense support personnel. It has five floors and each floor has five ring corridors. Built during the early years of World War II, it is still thought of as one of the most efficient office buildings in the world. It has 17.5 miles of corridors, yet it takes only seven minutes or so to walk between any two points in the building. It was built from 680,000 tons of sand and gravel dredged from the nearby Potomac River, that were processed into 435,000 cubic yards of concrete and molded into the pentagon shape. Very little steel was used in its design due to the needs of the war effort. The open air central plaza in the center of the Pentagon, is the world's largest "no-salute, no-cover" area, where U.S. servicemembers need not wear hats, nor salute. The snack bar in the center is informally known as the Ground Zero Cafe, a nickname originating during the Cold War when the Pentagon was targeted by Soviet nuclear missiles. Arlington Hall Station Arlington Hall (also called Arlington Hall Station) was the headquarters of the U.S. Army's Signal Intelligence Service (SIS) cryptography effort during World War II. Its site presently houses the George P. Schultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center. The site is located on Arlington Boulevard between S. Glebe Road (Virginia Route 120) and S. George Mason Drive in Arlington, Virginia. Arlington Hall began its existence during the 1920s as a private girls school, which by 1941, resided on a 100 acre campus, and had acquired the name of Arlington Hall Junior College for Women. On June 10, 1942, the U.S. Army took possession of the facility under the War Powers Act, for use by its Signals Intelligence Service. During World War II, Arlington Hall was in many respects similar to Bletchley Park in England, though military, and only one of two primarily cryptographic operations in Washington. The other was the Naval Communications Annex, also housed in a commandeered private girls' school, the predecessor of the Naval Security Station, and the home of the Naval Security Group Command headquarters. Arlington Hall concentrated its efforts on the Japanese systems, while Bletchley Park concentrated on European combatants. Arlington Hall became one of the organizations and facilities of the National Security Agency, after this agency was created in 1952. From 1945 to 1977, Arlington Hall served as the headquarters for the U.S. Army Security Agency. When the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) was organized at Arlington Hall on January 1, 1977, INSCOM absorbed the functions of the Army Security Agency into its own operations. INSCOM remained at Arlington Hall until the summer of 1989, when INSCOM relocated to Fort Belvoir. During the early 1980s, Arlington Hall served as a facility of the Defense Intelligence Agency. In 1989, the Department of Defense transferred the eastern portion of Arlington Hall to the Department of State. In October 1993, this portion of the site became the National Foreign Affairs Training Center, when the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) moved there. The National Foreign Affairs Training Center was renamed as the George P. Schultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center in a ceremony held on May 29, 2002. The National Park Service listed Arlington Hall on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The historic main building of the former girls school now serves as an administration building for the George P. Schultz Foreign Affairs Training Center. The western portion of Arlington Hall presently houses the U.S. National Guard Readiness Center. Fort Myer Fort Myer is a U.S. Army post adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, across the Potomac River from Washington, DC. It is a small post by U.S. Army standards, and has no ranges or field training areas. Most of its private quarters are occupied by flag rank officers, among whom include many prominent generals assigned to the Department of Defense at the Pentagon. Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Fort Myer was originally established as Fort Whipple during the American Civil War, in 1863. It was enlarged and became a permanent post in 1872. In 1881, it was renamed for Brigadier General Albert J. Myer, who established the Signal School of Instruction for Army and Navy Officers there in 1869. Fort Myer was the location of several exhibition flights by Orville Wright in 1908 and 1909. Many of the present structures were built after 1895. Since 1908 the post has become the quarters of the Army Chief of Staff. The post became a Regular Army mobilization center during the two world wars. There are no remains of the original Civil War works. Naval Radio Station The Naval Radio Station (T), Arlington, VA was the first component of the later command, NAVCOMMSTA Washington DC. NAVRADSTA (T) Arlington, VA was officially commissioned on February 13, 1913. Contracts for one tower, 600 feet in height, two towers, 450 feet in height, and several buildings were awarded in June, 1911. The land was transferred from the War Department to the Department of the Navy by an Act of Congress in 1912. The station was built on part of the Fort Myer Military Reservation. Erected in 1913, the Naval Radio Station consisted of self supporting steel towers, one 600 foot and two 450 foot, over and above the 200 foot elevation of the site, all similar to the Eiffel Tower in construction. The station buildings contained radio apparatus, laboratories, storerooms, offices, and living quarters for the communicators. Arlington was the first Naval Communications facility wherein the words "Naval Radio Station" were used, instead of "Naval Wireless Station". The first trans- Atlantic voice communication was made in 1915, between the Arlington Naval Radio Station and the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. The nation set its clocks by the Arlington Radio time signal, which originated at the Naval Observatory, also in Arlington; and listened for Arlington's radio broadcasted weather reports. The towers were dismantled in 1941, as a menace to aircraft approaching the new Washington National Airport. Excellent photo (postcard) at the following link: . On August 15, 1953, NAVCOMMSTA Washington DC was established. At that time, NCS Washington consisted of the Communications Centers at NAVRADSTA's Cheltenham, Annapolis and Arlington. On July 1, 1956, NAVRADSTA, Arlington, VA was dis- established after more than 43 years of operation. U.S. Coast Guard Air Station The U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Arlington was commissioned as an Air Detachment on February 20, 1952. In 1964, the unit was redesignated as a Coast Guard Air Station. In 1971, the station complement was six officer aviators, one warrant officer, and 26 enlisted Coastguardsmen. The Air Station is a tenant unit at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Arlington. In 1974, Air Station Arlington changed its name to Air Station Washington. The assigned mission of the Air Station is to provide VIP transportation for the Commandant of the Coast Guard and other required use passengers, with around-the-world transportation capability, while maintaining long range command and control functionality. An array of communications equipment permits the Commandant to command from the aircraft as efficiently as from Coast Guard Headquarters. Coast Guard Air Station Washington is currently an active station. U.S. Naval Radio Station (T), Arlington, VA 13 Feb 1913 01 Jul 1956 Navy Direction Finding Site, Arlington, VA =================================================================================== Asmara, Ethiopia Asmara is the capital city and largest settlement in Eritrea, home to a population of around 579,000 people. Asmara is on the edge of an escarpment, a 7,600 foot plateau, 30 air miles from the Red Sea; that is both the northwestern edge of the Great Rift Valley and of the Eritrean highlands. Textiles and clothing, processed meat, beer, shoes, and ceramics are the major industrial products. Asmara started with four villages, to being a regional center under Emperor Yohannes IV of Ethiopia, to "Little Rome" of Mussolini's unsuccessful second Roman Empire, to being a provincial capital under Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia and lastly a national capital of Eritrea Asmara grew from four villages founded in the twelfth century. Originally, it is said, there were four clans living in the Asmara area on the Kebessa Plateau: Gheza Gurtom, Gheza Shelele, Gheza Serenser and Gheza Asmae. Encouraged by their women, the men united the four clans and defeated the bandits who preyed on the area. After the victory, a new name was given to the place, Arbaete Asmera which literally means, in the Tigrinya language, the four united. Eventually Arbaete was dropped and it has been called Asmera, though there is still a zone called Arbaete Asmera. During Emperor Haile Selassie's reign 1930-1936 and 1941-1974, Ethiopia was among the West's strongest allies in all of Africa. A treaty of amnesty and economic relations between Ethiopia and the U.S. was signed in September 1951, followed by two mutual defense agreements in 1953. Under Selassie, Ethiopia hosted the largest number of American Peace Corps volunteers in Africa, while over 10,OOO Ethiopian students studied in American universities between the 1950s and 1974. The U.S. also operated Kagnew Station a military communications facility in Asmara, near the Red Sea. Several thousand American servicemen were based there, and it was considered to be of great strategic importance in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1974, an Ethiopian military committee known as the Derg overthrew the 82-year- old, pro-Western Emperor Haile Selassie. Two years later the Derg declared Ethiopia socialist, broke relations with Washington, and realigned the country with Moscow. =================================================================================== Remembering Kagnew Station, By John R. Rasmuson In 1969, near the end of officer candidate school and confronted by a menu of unappetizing assignments, I impulsively struck a deal for a job at an Army Security Agency field station in Asmara, Ethiopia. That night, I called my wife from a pay phone. "Get an atlas and find out where Ethiopia is," I told her. "I think we’re going there." My understanding of things African was as shallow as that of most Americans in the summer of 1969, I expect. After all, there were no CNN broadcasts of starvation or genocide or AIDS, no celebrities traipsing through refugee camps. So I imagine that in the afterglow of Apollo 11 and Woodstock, there was not much attention paid to the coup in Libya, where Capt. Moammar al-Qaddafi, 27, ousted King Idris I. Just a few weeks later, Lt. John R. Rasmuson, 23, reported to his first duty assignment at Kagnew Station in the Eritrean highlands. Eritrea, approximately the size of the state of New York, is literally the high ground of the Horn of Africa. Its mountainous interior reaches 8,000 feet. To the west, however, sparsely vegetated lowlands devolve in the Sudanese desert, and on the east, beyond the escarpments, coastal plains merge with the Great Rift Valley in the Danakil Depression, reputed to be the hottest place on earth. Asmara was the capital of Eritrea, then the northernmost province of Ethiopia. Eritrea had been a sovereign nation until colonized by Italy in 1890, but in the sorting out that followed World War II, the United Nations handed it over to Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie. It was an arrangement that didn’t sit well with Eritrean nationalists. They launched a secessionist movement in 1960 called the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF). During World War II, Eritrea was the focal point of an American effort to blanket the Middle East with airfields, ordnance depots and support bases. It was under the aegis of the Lend-Lease Act of 1941 that the Royal Air Force Support Base at Gura (operated in secret by the Douglas Aircraft Company) and the U.S. Naval Repair Base at the Red Sea port of Massawa were established to support British forces fighting in Libya and Egypt. Both bases were closed following the defeat of Germany’s Afrika Korps in early 1943. Kagnew Station had a different genesis. Its inception was a War Department memo dated January 26, 1943, titled "Establishment of a War Department Fixed Radio Station in Africa," which detailed the operational objectives for what was to become the 4th Detachment of the Second Signal Service Battalion (renamed the U.S. Army Security Agency (USASA) in 1945). An Army lieutenant was dispatched to Asmara in April 1943 to conduct a feasibility study. He was soon joined by six enlisted men. They refurbished Radio Marina, an abandoned, Italian Naval radio station, and sent traffic samples to Washington. Eritrea’s geographical location, 15 degrees north of the equator at an altitude of 7,600 feet, contributed to extraordinary propagation of radio signals. (It was so good that, by the 1960s, the rock-and-roll programming on Kagnew’s 1,000-watt AM station was heard as far away as Australia, Finland and Brazil.) The quality of the samples caused the War Department to promptly expand operations. Within seven months, 54 American soldiers were working in underground rooms at what was known as Asmara Barracks. On March 7, 1948, one Navy officer and six enlisted men established the U.S. Navy Communications Unit 3. They joined another Army communications unit, the 3176th Signal Service Detachment, which maintained circuits to New Delhi, Tehran and Washington. The name "Kagnew Station" came with the signing of the Base Rights Agreement in 1953. Kagnew had several military associations in Ethiopian history: it was the name of a warhorse that, riderless, charged the Italians at the Battle of Adowa in 1896; and Ethiopia deployed the elite Kagnew Battalion to Korea in 1951. Although the base was redesignated the 4th USASA Field Station in 1958, it was more commonly known as Kagnew Station, especially in East Africa. By the time I arrived, it was a mature installation, thanks to a $70 million investment in infrastructure. Kagnew consisted of 3,400 acres in an archipelago of eight fenced tracts. Six were either receiver or transmitter sites, squat, windowless buildings amid a web of antenna wire, and two were garrison enclaves close to the city’s neighborhoods. Amenities for the 4,200 Americans included a school, a television station, a bowling alley and a movie theater where John Wayne’s "True Grit" set a box-office record of $1,035.75. Asmara belied the stereotypes of the "dark continent." It was a city with a colonial veneer of pastel stucco. The Italian legacy was evident in the shops and restaurants where you could wash down a plate of spaghetti alla carbonara with a bottle of locally brewed Melotti beer. Palm-lined streets overflowed with a continuous stream of cars, donkey carts, bicycles and goats; the air was redolent of dung and smoke and berberi, the ubiquitous cooking spice. There was also a whiff of revolution in the air. In Tripoli, Qaddafi’s anti-Western rhetoric was matched by support for an increasingly hostile Eritrean Liberation Front. In Washington, not long after Qaddafi summarily closed Wheelus Air Force Base, Army Chief of Staff Gen. William Westmoreland appointed a special assistant for the Modern Volunteer Army Program (MVA). The end of the draft was more than two years away when MVA’s revolutionary mandates sought to increase retention rates by improving soldiers’ quality of life. It seemed to me that Kagnew had pretty much anticipated all of the MVA innovations except two- man barracks rooms and beer in the mess hall. No corner of the post had been overlooked. The 1966 historical report noted "improved morale of all detained persons" because "shelves were installed in all cells of the post guardhouse." Fresh from the Spartan regimen of officer candidate school, I found Kagnew to be more a genial company town than an Army base. Formations, inspections and physical training were passé. Houseboys maintained the barracks, made the beds and shined the shoes, so soldiers had plenty of time for intramural sports, motorcycles, University of Maryland classes and the "R&R" centers in Keren and Massawa. Soldier teams competed on a televised quiz show; others published a quarterly literary magazine called both/and. There were also 300 Army-sponsored hunting trips a year until the insurgency brought hunting to an end. Despite an increase in harassing attacks, however, the Ethiopian government refused to acknowledge the ELF as a political entity. Selassie publicly dismissed the attacks as the work of shifta (bandits), but in a private meeting in the White House in late 1970, he cited the ELF as a security threat as he pressed President Richard M. Nixon for more military aid. The ELF, which had found an oil- rich patron in Qaddafi, responded with ever bolder tactics, including an ambush that killed the commanding general of the Ethiopian forces operating in Eritrea. The emperor’s occasional visits to Kagnew Station were more practical than political. He usually spent time in the dentist’s chair and in the aisles of the PX. In 1971, the post commander hosted a luncheon for him. From the adjutant came a remarkable protocol directive. "Ladies are requested to avoid wearing black, red or sleeveless dresses," it read. "Hats are in order but should be not too large. All ladies should wear gloves." Selassie’s realm wasn’t a perfect duty station. There were periodic water shortages, gamma globulin shots in the butt and a persistent sense of isolation. "I do not believe we have a more remote station of our armed forces," observed Gen. Westmoreland while visiting in 1971. The mounting ELF insurgency only made the isolation more acute. The R&R center in Keren closed, and following the shooting death of a military police courier between Asmara and Massawa, the serpentine road to the Red Sea coast was off-limits to Americans. But it was finally dollars, not bullets, that forced the U.S. Army out of Eritrea. In March 1972, USASA announced that it was withdrawing from Kagnew Station in order to save $12 million in annual costs. The Navy was designated to take over as the host unit in July 1973. As the transition got under way, with Qaddafi reportedly urging the ELF to step up pressure on the Americans in Asmara, we built sandbag bunkers and manned them with armed guards around the clock. To fortify was so contrary to the Kagnew experience that many, including me, were openly skeptical. That changed one night when a bullet plowed into one of the bunkers. My final tours as the staff duty officer were spent shuttling from bunker to bunker carrying a loaded .45 and the only Starlight scope we had. I was among the last of the Army to leave, just days before the Navy was scheduled to take command. It was clear that they had little interest in running the only American base in Africa; in fact, the Navy jumped ship well before a coup overthrew the 82-year- old emperor in September 1974. As the war between the Ethiopian army and the Eritrean insurgents heated up, only a 12-man detachment of Navy radio operators remained, along with the Collins Radio employees working at Stonehouse, the deep-space intelligence facility, built in 1964; the last part of Kagnew Station occupied by U.S. forces. It was abandoned in 1977. The dozen Navy men lived in the guest house where my wife and I had spent our first days at Kagnew. Across the street, the hospital in which my two sons were born became a jail as the Ethiopian army occupied Kagnew’s garrison tracts. One of my Eritrean friends was incarcerated there for a time, a political prisoner. When released, he walked for weeks to the Eritrean camps in the Sudan and joined the guerrillas. The first attack on the Ethiopians at Kagnew came on January 31, 1975. Incoming rocket- propelled grenades interrupted a Navy poker game in the former officers’ club, and before the night was over, the Navy men had ducked a few errant bullets. >From then on, nighttime firefights were frequent as the Eritreans pressed the Soviet-backed Ethiopian forces. A curfew shut down the city, and a detachment of Marines guarded the U.S. consulate. The end finally came in April 1977. Chuck Walker, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the Navy detachment, recalls the consulate giving them a few days’ notice. Armed Ethiopian soldiers stood by as they destroyed documents and crypto equipment. They were then driven directly to the airport where a C-141 evacuated them to Greece with only the clothes they were wearing. It took 14 more years for the Eritreans to win their war of independence, considerably longer for Qaddafi to come around. Mellower and more pragmatic at age 65, he has lived to see diplomatic relations restored with the United States. Now, 30 years after the unceremonious withdrawal of the U.S. military from Africa, the exigencies of another worldwide war have brought the U.S. Army back to Ethiopia. In January, special operations forces launched attacks on al Qaeda in Somalia from Ethiopian staging areas. In a year or so, a new unified combatant command, U.S. Africa Command, will set up shop somewhere on the continent. It is a belated step in redressing the neglect so long accorded an important region of the world. I imagine the higher-ups will look for a site with strategic prominence, easy communications, a temperate climate and a diverse, welcoming population. A return to Kagnew Station seems the perfect choice. =================================================================================== Naval Communications Unit (NAVCOMMUNIT-3), 07 Mar 1948 22 Jun 1961 Asmara, Ethiopia Naval Communications Unit (NAVCOMMUNIT), 22 Jun 1961 Jul 1973 Asmara, Ethiopia Naval Communications Station (NAVCOMMSTA) Jul 1973 Jan 1975 Asmara, Ethiopia Naval Communications Detachment, Asmara, Ethiopia Jan 1975 Apr 1977 at the U.S. Army Security Agency, Kagnew Station, Asmara, Ethiopia. =================================================================================== Bethany Beach, Delaware Bethany Beach is an incorporated town located between the Atlantic Ocean and the inland bays in the southeastern corner of Sussex County, the largest of Delaware's three counties. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 943. The summer population grows to about 9,500. The Town of Bethany Beach is on a headland, extending approximately one mile along the Delaware Bay barrier island complex, which extends from Cape Henlopen, Delaware to Chincoteague, Virginia. It is located six miles north of the Maryland state line and four miles south of Indian River inlet. Bethany Beach, together with the towns of Lewes, Rehoboth Beach, Dewey Beach, South Bethany, and Fenwick Island, comprises Delaware's beach resort area and is Sussex County's most densely populated and fastest-growing area. Bethany Beach, South Bethany and Fenwick Island are popularly known as "The Quiet Resorts". This is in contradistinction to the wild atmosphere of Dewey Beach and the cosmopolitan bustle of Rehoboth Beach. Assisting Bethany Beach's reputation as a "quiet" place is the presence of Delaware Seashore State Park immediately to the north of the town, a six mile-long barrier island providing a substantial buffer from Dewey Beach's noise. Serving as another buffer is a large unincorporated area of private condominiums and multi-million-dollar beach homes between the park and the town. Despite its small size, Bethany Beach boasts the usual attractions of a summer seaside resort, including a short boardwalk, a broad, sandy beach, motels, restaurants, and vacation homes. Because Bethany Beach does not sit on a barrier island, residential areas continue some distance to the west of the town's limits. Bethany Beach was founded on July 12, 1901 by members of the Christian Church, also known as the Disciples of Christ of the Washington DC area and Pennsylvania. The original idea was not to find a town, but to find a suitable tract of land for a permanent yearly seaside assembly for the Christian churches of the country. Bethany was named by H.L. Atkinson, who won a nationwide contest and thereby was given a lot on the beach as his prize. The Missionary Society had founded the site in 1894 for the purpose of summer camp religious retreat meetings. The Improvement Company was disbanded in 1902, after the first town government consisting of a mayor, a secretary, a treasurer and six commissioners was formed. Bethany still reflects the character of the early settlers who were looking for "a haven of rest for quiet people." The first building in Bethany was the tabernacle, an octagonal auditorium on the assembly grounds of the Christian Missionary Society. It was dedicated July 12, 1901, though still uncompleted. It had brown shingles and was 100 feet in diameter with a cupola on top. It lasted 60 years before storms and termites did her in. That same day the deed to the tabernacle and surrounding 15 acres was presented to a founding father, Dr. F. D. Power, Washington minister, representing the Christian Missionary Society, by the Bethany Beach Improvement Company. Problems soon arose, however. A railroad had been promised but not delivered, water was poor, rains poured into the Auditorium and so the officers of the Bethany Beach Improvement Company were fired. Six businessmen from Pittsburgh were sent to bail them out. In the fall of 1902, they bought up the company, moved to the Beach and put their stamp on development for years to come. A U.S. Lifesaving Station was manned in the Bethany Beach community from 1907 to 1915. The station became a U.S. Coast Guard station 1915, and continued as an active unit until 1945. A Naval Radio Compass station operated for years from Bethany Beach. Coastal Defense troops were quartered in the Town during World War II and the existing Delaware National Guard training installation was used as a German POW camp. It continues to be an active Delaware National Guard training camp. A tract of land fronting 260 feet on the beach and 480 feet deep, purchased by the U.S. Government for $1 in 1905, became the site of the U.S. Naval Radio Compass Station at Bethany Beach. This and two other stations, at Cape Henlopen and Cape May, could locate the position of a ship off the capes with radio direction finders tuned to the ship's signals. In the same tract, just north of the Radio Compass Station, the U.S. Lifesaving Service built the Bethany Beach Lifesaving Station in 1907. On January 28, 1915, the U.S. Lifesaving Service and its functions were consolidated with the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service to form the Coast Guard. The Radio Compass Station was closed in 1929, and a Navy Radio Beacon was installed. The U.S. Coast Guard Station at Bethany Beach was closed in 1945 and abandoned by 1947. The building housing the Radio Compass Station, the modern Pilot House Apartments, fronting the beach on Fifth Street, is still painted battleship gray. During World War II, soldiers were quartered at Bethany Beach for coastal anti- aircraft defense. Journey’s End, on the northwest corner of Atlantic and Parkwood, was rechristened "Fort Maggie"; and for the duration, was used as a barracks by a group of U.S. Army Signal Corps men, who manned a radar station along the coast. It was named for Mrs. Margaret Hughes, the "house mother." The old auditorium on the church grounds, which had sometimes been used as a boy’s dorm during youth conferences, housed U.S. Navy personnel on coastal defense duty. In 1945, the Coast Guard Radio Station was right on the beach at one end of town. One of the two pay phones in town was on the porch at the Radio Station. Across the highway from the Coast Guard Station was a German POW camp. The Army Base, Fort Miles, in Lewes, Delaware, was about 15 miles away. Now located in the Delaware Seashore State Park, an observation watchtower was built on the Delaware coastline, near Dewey Beach during World War II, to look for German submarines preying on Allied shipping approaching Delaware Bay. Today, the watchtower still stands, near the northern boundary of the park. The tower has been refurbished, is a featured stop on nature walks, is open to the public and is surrounded by townhouses. Constructed in 1876, the Indian River Lifesaving Station is located on the Atlantic Ocean between Dewey Beach and the Indian River Inlet in Delaware. The structure, one of many Lifesaving stations designed by the Federal government in 1875, is the oldest Lifesaving Station still standing in its original location, on the East Coast. Its lifesaving days ended when the Storm of 1962 filled it with more than two feet of sand. The U.S. Coast Guard then turned the building over to the Department of Transportation, which took it out of service. the station property was turned over to the state of Delaware in 1962, and was turned over to the GSA in 1963. The Delaware Seashore Preservation Foundation opened the old station to the public on October 13, 1996, and is seeking to restore the station buildings and the creation of a learning center. The U.S Coast Guard established a new station at Indian River Inlet on March 27, 1964. Construction was completed in April of 1964. At that time, the station had a crew of 15 Coast Guardsmen. A new Operations Center and Station Office was built in 1981. The station is currently manned by one officer and 36 enlisted Coast Guardsmen. The Bethany Beach Airfield, a former military airfield, was apparently built at some point between 1929-32, and was located on the grounds of a small Delaware Army National Guard facility, less than a quarter-mile from the Atlantic Ocean. A 1932 chart depicted Bethany Beach as a civilian airport, with a radio beacon very close to the National Guard encampment, to the southeast. The airfield was described as being a U.S. Army airfield from 1933 through 1942. The field was listed as providing fuel during National Guard encampment. The Bethany Beach Airfield was probably available for civilian use and at times when the National Guard was conducting an encampment at the site. Listed as a commercial or municipal airport in May of 1943, the airfield was closed at some point between 1943 and 1944, as it was no longer depicted on May, 1944 charts. Bethany Beach airfield was described as an Army Aviation Training Site from the early to mid 1960's. In 1991 and 1999, the airfield was depicted as a single north/ south unpaved runway, labeled simply as "Landing Strip". The surrounding property was labeled as Delaware National Guard. As of 2004, the Bethany Beach Training Site was still in use by the Delaware National Guard's 193rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute, the home of the Delaware Officer Candidate School, which has been conducting classes since 1957. In 2005, the Bethany Beach airfield is still used for military helicopter operations, and also serves as a parade field for military reviews. U.S. Naval Radio Compass Station, Bethany Beach, DE 1905 1929 Navy Direction Finding Station, Bethany Beach, DE at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Bethany Beach, DE =================================================================================== Bird Island, Arcata Bay, Arcata, Humboldt County, California Bird Island is located at the mouth of Arcata Bay, between the Mad River and Arcata Channels in Humboldt County, near Eureka, CA. Humboldt Bay is located in Humboldt County along the rugged North Coast of California. The regional center of Eureka and the college town of Arcata are located adjacent to the bay, which is the second largest in California. In addition to being home to more than 200 bird species, the bay is also the site of the state's largest commercial oyster harvesting operation. Humboldt Bay is the only deep water bay between San Francisco, California and Coos Bay, Oregon. Thus, the Port of Humboldt Bay is the only protected deep water port for the same distance. Despite being the best harbor along the approximately six hundred miles of coastline it went undiscovered for some time because it is extremely difficult to see from the ocean. It opens to the sea through a very narrow and treacherous passage. Contributing to its isolation was the coastal mountain range which extends from the ocean approximately one hundred and fifty miles inland. Arcata is a city, adjacent to Humboldt Bay, in Humboldt County. The population was 16,651 during the 2000 Census. This college town is home to both the Humboldt State University and the Humboldt Crabs, a successful semi-professional baseball team. Arcata Bay is part of Humboldt Bay, which is fourteen miles in length, from north to south; covers more than 17,000 acres; and is the second largest coastal estuary in California. A significant portion of the northerly waters of Arcata Bay are owned by the City of Arcata, including Bird Island, and are within its city limit. In 1849, an expedition of seven men led by Josiah Gregg attempted to find an overland route to the Pacific ocean. They left from the gold town of Weaverville for the 150 mile trek to the sea. Because of the density of the redwood forests and because Gregg stopped frequently to measure latitude and the size of the trees the expedition averaged only two miles a day. The party was near starvation when they emerged on the coast. After stocking up on food the party walked to San Francisco to report their discovery of the bay. In March 1850 two ships, the General Morgan and the Laura Virginia, were sent to the bay from San Francisco. After considerable initial difficulty due to sand bars and ocean swells the ships entered the bay. The sailors from the Laura Virginia named the bay after Alexander von Humboldt, a famous naturalist. The local tribes refer to themselves as "Indians" and generally prefer that designation in favor of the more politically correct "Native American" or "Indigenous People" and the popular Canadian designation of "First Nation" is almost never used. The Wiyot People and Yurok People lived in this area prior to Russian and European arrival. "Kori" is the name for the Wiyot settlement that existed on the site of what would become Arcata. The natives of this region are the farthest-southwest people whose language has Algonquian roots. The traditional homeland of the Wiyot ranged from the Little River in the north and continues south through Humboldt Bay (including the present cities of Eureka and Arcata) and then south to the lower Eel River basin. The traditional homeland of the Yurok ranges from Mad River, to beyond the Klamath River in the north. Arcata was originally founded in the spring of 1850, as the town of Union, the permanent name change occurred in 1860. Union was created as a port and reprovisioning center for the gold mines in the Klamath, Trinity, and Salmon mountains to the east. It was slightly closer to the mines than Eureka, which gave Union an early advantage. What was to become the first significant town on Humboldt Bay, began as Union Company employees laid out the plaza and first city streets in the Spring of 1850. By later in the 1850's redwood timber replaced the depleted gold fields as the economic driver for the region, and Eureka became the principal city on the bay, gaining the county seat by the end of the decade. The City of Arcata, incorporated in 1858, is nestled on the northern coast of California, amid redwood forests, Humboldt Bay, and the Pacific Ocean; approximately 760 miles north of Los Angeles and 275 miles north of San Francisco. The nearest seaport is Eureka, five miles south, on Humboldt Bay. There is a deep water port in nearby Eureka. In 1854, the Union Wharf and Plank Walk Company built redwood plank and rails 2.7 miles out into the deeper water of Arcata Bay, providing Arcata with a deep-water seaport. This was initially a horse-drawn railroad, though it was later converted to steam. This eventually became the Arcata and Mad River Railroad (now defunct). Arcata's wharf is long gone, and only a few piers can be seen at low tide. The importance of gold, however, was soon eclipsed by lumbering. It was timber resources, particularly the vast, virgin forests of giant redwoods, which covered the ridges and valleys along California's north coast, that sustained the development of Arcata through the 19th century and into the mid-twentieth century. By 1930, Arcata's population had reached 1,700 and was growing. A public water system and fire department came along in 1884, followed by the Arcata Union newspaper in 1886, electricity in 1895, railroad connections with San Francisco in 1914, the establishment of Humboldt State Normal School, now Humboldt State University, in 1914, and the Redwood Highway in 1925. The planning and construction of what is now the Arcata-Eureka Airport started in late 1940 or early 1941. Humboldt County, in collaboration with the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA, the predecessor of the FAA), decided to construct a new airport. On August 2, 1941, the area located 15 miles north of Eureka, north of the unincorporated town of McKinleyville, California. was selected to become the site of an airport. The site was located on a bluff, which rises abruptly 200 feet from the ocean. The development was planned for the area between the ocean and the Redwood Highway near Clam Beach, and near Dows Prairie. The new airport was part of a larger plan by the U.S. War Department to establish airfields that could be used by the military in times of war. Construction of the airport was underway when the U.S. entered World War II in December, 1941. By 1942, the U.S. Navy took control of the airport and continued te construction of what was to become a Naval Auxiliary Air Station. The NAAS was administratively part of the Alameda Naval Air Station, which was being built near San Francisco. Thereafter, the airport, The mission of NAAS Arcata was pilot training, coastal defense, and for aircraft flown off aircraft carriers, returning from the Pacific theater. Later in the war it also became a place to test fog dispersal equipment. In March, 1944, station personnel numbered 153 officers and 532 enlisted men, with barracks for 180 officers and 732 men. The station had a 128 x 160-ft. Kodiak hangar, plus gun emplacements around the airfield. The war in the Pacific ended in August, 1945, and the Navy deactivated NAAS Arcata in May, 1946. The Navy retained ownership of the property. The airport was next knows as Landing Aides Experiment Station Arcata, from 1946 until 1950. Fog-dispersal operations continued at LAES Arcata until the end of 1949. In 1950, Congress discontinued appropriations for the Landing Aids Experiment Station, and the airport was given to Humboldt County by the U.S. Government, for use as a commercial airport. In 1977, the U.S. Coast Guard opened an Air Station at the Arcata Eureka Municipal Airport. Several Navy structures have survived. Navy Direction Finding Station, Bird Island, CA at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Bird Island, CA =================================================================================== Balboa, Panama Canal Zone The Republic of Panama (Spanish: República de Panamá), commonly known as Panama, is the southern and easternmost country of Central America. A transcontinental country, its isthmus is the narrowest part of a natural land bridge between the continents of North America and South America. It borders Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the east, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. Before the canal was built, Panama's strategic location, at the wasp waist of the Americas, and the shortest landlink between the planet's two largest oceans, made it one of the great crossroads of the world. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, Panama was widely settled by Chibchan, Chocoan, and Cueva peoples, among whom the largest group were the Cueva (whose specific language affiliation is poorly documented). However the chiefdoms in Panama showed some similarities to the Mesoamerican cultures of Ecuador and Brazil, semi-nomadic hunters and fishermen, they displayed the decapitated heads of enemies for respect. They worshiped the sun, moon and many the bones of ancestors. Panama was part of the Spanish Empire for 300 years (1538-1821) and Panamanian fortunes fluctuated with the geopolitical importance of the isthmus to the Spanish crown. Panama's importance would wane significantly towards the end of the 17th century and fade almost altogether by the middle of the 18th as Spanish influence and power in Europe decreased; and as Spanish ships began to increasingly go around Cape Horn to reach the Atlantic. While the Panama route was short, it was also labor intensive and expensive because of the loading and unloading and backbreaking trek required to get from the one coast to the other. The Panama route was also vulnerable to attack from pirates (mostly Dutch and English) and from 'new world' Africans called cimarrons, who had freed themselves from enslavement and lived in communes or palenques around the Camino Real, in Panama's interior and on some of the islands off Panama's Pacific coast. In 1821, Panama declared its independence from Spain, and shared closer logistical ties with South America than Central America. While the other Central American nations declared full independence by 1840, during the next century Panama was controlled by Columbia and other nation's interests. From 1850 to 1900, Panama had forty different governments and thirteen U.S. interventions to suppress independence revolts and quell social disturbances. This was the beginning of a long-term hate among the Panamanian people against the U.S. military. The first such conflict was known as the Watermelon War of 1856, where white U.S. soldiers mistreated locals causing large-scale race riots that U.S. Marines eventually put down. In the 1840s, two decades after the Monroe Doctrine declared U.S. intentions to be the dominant imperial power in the Western Hemisphere, some North American and French interests became excited about the prospects of constructing railroads and/or canals through Central America reducing transoceanic travel by about eleven thousand kilometers. In 1846, the U.S. and Colombia signed the Bidlack Mallarino Treaty, granting the U.S. rights to build railroads through Panama, as well as the power to militarily intervene against revolt guaranteeing Colombian control of the isthmus. The world's first transcontinental railroad, the Panama Railway, was completed in 1855 across the Isthmus from Puerto Colón to Panama City. It was used to transport fortune hunters who wanted quick passage to the gold fields of California, and carried west coast Central American coffee from Pacific ports to the eastern U,S. and Europe. The existence of the railroad made speculation about a Panamanian canal feasible. Modern Panamanian history has been shaped by the reality of transisthmian commerce, and by the possibility of a canal to replace the difficult overland route. In the 1520s and 1530s, the Spanish crown ordered surveys of the isthmus to determine the feasibility of such a canal, but the idea was abandoned. From 1880 to 1889, a French company that had successfully built the Suez Canal, with U.S. permission attempted to construct a sea-level canal in the same general area as the present Panama Canal. The company workers faced insurmountable health problems such as yellow fever and malaria, as well as engineering challenges caused by frequent landslides, slippage of equipment and mud. In the end the company failed in a spectacular financial collapse. In 1902, congress approved U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt's plan to take on the abandoned works. The Colombian government had balked at the prospect of a U.S. controlled canal so the U.S. encouraged a handful of conservative Panamanian landholding families to demand independence from Columbia. The USS Nashville was dispatched to local waters around the Caribbean port City of Colón to deter any resistance from Bogotà and on the 3rd of November, 1903, with U.S. encouragement and French financial support, Panama proclaimed its independence. Less than three weeks later, without a Panamanian in the room, the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty was signed between the French and the U.S allowing for the construction of a canal and in perpetuity, U.S. sovereignty and control over a strip of land 10 miles wide and 50 miles long, straddling the new canal. The Panama Canal was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914 and is considered one of the world's greatest engineering triumphs. On September 7, 1977, perhaps feeling a bit guilty about retaining the canal in perpetuity, an agreement was signed to transfer the canal operations and fourteen U.S. Army bases to Panama by 1999. However, the U.S. did retain the right of military intervention. Certain portions of the zone, and increasing responsibility over the canal, were turned over in the intervening years. The entire Panama Canal, the area supporting the Canal, and the remaining U.S.S military bases were turned over to Panama on December 31, 1999. The U.S. strongly influences the local culture, but Panama also has strong influences from other global locations; Spain, Africa, the Caribbean, China, East India, and Europe. Panama City is the only Central American city that actually has a skyline, and is incredibly cosmopolitan and outward looking. Panama is a land of lush mountain forests, Caribbean beaches surrounded by coral reefs, vast ranches and farms below and surrounding mountain villages. Panama is a 21st century country, by far the most modern in Central America, efficient buses, fantastic roads, modern schools, reliable electricity, and state of the art telecommunications. Yet within a couple of hours, you enter a world thousands of years old, where dug-out canoes provide access to hidden remote villages of the indigenous Kuna indians, living in traditional patched cloth panel huts. The culture, customs, and language of the Panamanians are predominantly Caribbean Spanish. Ethnically, the majority of the population is mestizo or any noticeable mixture of Spanish, Chinese, Amerindian, and African descent. Spanish is the official and dominant language; English is a common second language spoken by the West Indians and by many professionals. More than half the population lives in the Panama City-Colón metropolitan corridor. Balboa The town of Balboa, founded by the U.S. during the construction of the Panama Canal, was named after Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the Spanish conquistador credited with discovering the Pacific Ocean. The name was suggested to the Canal Zone authorities by the Peruvian ambassador to Panama. Prior to being drained, filled and leveled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the hilly area north of Panama City was home to a few subsistence ranches and unused marshlands. The town of Balboa, like most towns in the Canal Zone, was served by Canal Zone Government-operated schools, post office, police and fire stations, commissary, cafeteria, yacht club, service center and recreational facilities. Balboa's children were educated at the Balboa Elementary School, Balboa High School, and the private St. Mary's School. The town was also home to two private banks, a credit union, a Jewish Welfare Board, several Christian denomination churches, civic clubs, a masonic temple and a YMCA. The Fort Amador Navy Sector was originally constructed in 1914 as the Balboa Naval Radio Station, one of the earliest Naval stations in the Canal Zone. It served as the Headquarters for major U.S. Navy activities in Panama from 1918 though 1993. In 1940-1941, the Fifteenth Naval District Headquarters building (Bryan Hall) was constructed on this site. The Fifteenth Naval District was disestablished in 1976 and replaced by Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command (COMUSNAVSO), which merged with the U.S. Naval Station Panama Canal. COMUSNAVSO was disestablished in 1991 and replaced by Commander-in-Chief Atlantic Fleet Detachment South (CINCLANTFLTSO). The Navy sector of Fort Amador was transferred to Panama October 1, 1996, along with the remaining part of the Army sector of Fort Amador. Originally called the Balboa Fill Landing Field, Albrook Field was a U.S. military base constructed in 1922 in Balboa, by which time the need for an airfield on the Pacific side of the Isthmus of Panama had become apparent to then Army Air Service and Panama Canal Department officials. It was formally established as an independent installation in 1924, the first installation on the Pacific side of Panama, established specifically as an airfield. It was named Albrook Field in honor of First Lieutenant Frank P. Andrew, its first commander. Between 1924 and 1961, Albrook Field was used as the first commercial airport of the old Canal Zone; and was also used as a homebase for combat aircraft from 1943 until 1989. Albrook hosted the Panama Canal Air Force (PCAF) in 1940; the Caribbean Air Force in 1941; the Caribbean Air Command from late 1948 to 1963; U.S. Air Forces Southern Command (1963-1976); U.S. Air Force Southern Air Division (1976-1989) (which moved from Albrook to Howard Air Force Base in 1978); and the 830th Air Division (1989-1991). >From the 1940s until 1989, Albrook was the home of the Inter-American Air Forces Academy (IAAFA). Albrook became an Air Force Base in 1948, and in 1975, it was downgraded to an Air Force Station. The airstrip, adjacent hangars and buildings (Albrook Army Airfield) were transferred to Panama on October 1, 1979, along with the adjacent the PAD (Panama Air Depot) Area which was transferred in stages through 1982. Albrook Air Force Station was transferred to Panama on October 1, 1997. Albrook Field is now the "Marcos A. Gelabert", Panamanian national airport. Until 1979, when the Canal Zone was abolished under the terms of the Panama Canal Treaties, the town of Balboa was the administrative center of the Canal Zone, a U.S. territory. The Panama Canal's Administration Building, former seat of the Canal Zone Government and Panama Canal Company, is located in Balboa Heights and currently houses the Panama Canal Administration (ACP). Balboa is now considered part of Panama City's corregimiento of Ancón. Since its incorporation into the Republic of Panama, Balboa has been redeveloped to enhance the port's capacity and to adapt to private ownership of houses and commercial enterprises. The emphasis on exploiting Balboa's location has resulted in increased car traffic, air pollution and the degradation of the town's former harmonious layout. The demographic changes resulting from the departure of most of the town's American population has also brought the closure of most of the town's former public facilities and institutions, including Balboa High School and Balboa Elementary School. Sightseeing highlights for anyone visiting Balboa today include the Administration Building, the Goethals Memorial, the Prado, the remaining English-language churches, the somewhat well preserved architecture of the Canal Zone era, and two handicrafts markets. As it was during the Canal Zone (1904-1979), Balboa is the seat of the Panama Canal's administrative offices and the port of Balboa, one of Panama's main ports. The population as of the 1990 census was 1,214. The currency of Panama is the balboa, which is copmprised of 100 centésimos. The balboa has been tied to the U.S. dollar (which is legal tender in Panama). On June 6, 1941, Naval Air Station, Balboa, Panama Canal Zone, was established. Navy Direction Finding Station, Balboa, Panama 1938 Aug 1941 Navy Radio Intercept Station, Balboa, Panama Spring 1940 Aug 1941 DF and RI moved to COMSUPPACT Toro Point, Panama Aug 1941 =================================================================================== Bar Harbor, Mount Desert Island, Maine Bar Harbor is a town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County. As of the 2000 census, its population was 4,820. A port of entry for Bay Ferries from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Bar Harbor is a famous summer colony in the Down East region of Maine. It is home to the College of the Atlantic, Jackson Laboratory and Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory. Bar Harbor is home to the largest parts of Acadia National Park. Abenaki Native Americans called the island Pemetic, meaning "sloping land." Here they fished, hunted and gathered berries. In 1604, French explorer Samuel de Champlain is believed to have run aground at Otter Point, where he met members of the tribe. He named the island Isles des Monts Deserts, meaning "island of barren mountains", now called Mount Desert Island, the largest in Maine. First settled in 1763, by Israel Higgins and John Thomas, the community was incorporated in 1796 as Eden, after Sir Richard Eden, an English statesman. Early industries included fishing, lumbering and shipbuilding. With the best soil on Mount Desert Island, it also developed agriculture. By 1880, there were 30 hotels, with tourists arriving by train and ferry to the Gilded Age resort that would rival Newport, Rhode Island. The rich and famous tried to outdo each other with entertaining and estates. A glimpse of their lifestyles was available from the Shore Path, a walkway skirting waterfront lawns. Yachting, garden parties at the Pot & Kettle Club, and carriage rides up Cadillac Mountain were popular diversions. Others enjoyed horse-racing at Robin Hood Park-Morrell Park. President William Howard Taft played golf in 1910 at the Kebo Valley Golf Club. On March 3, 1918, Eden was changed to Bar Harbor, after Bar Island which protects the harbor. The name would become synonymous with elite wealth. It was the birthplace of vice-president Nelson Rockefeller. In 1947, however, Maine experienced a severe drought. Sparks at a cranberry bog in Hull's Cove ignited a wildfire which intensified over 10 days. Nearly half the eastern side of Mount Desert Island burned, including 67 palatial summer houses on Millionaires' Row. Five historic grand hotels were destroyed, in addition to 170 permanent homes. Over 10,000 acres of Acadia National Park were destroyed. Fortunately, the town's business district was spared, including Mount Desert Street, where several former summer homes within a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places operate as inns. During World War I, a Navy Direction Finding Station was established at the U.S. Naval Radio Station at Bar Harbor. The DF Station at NAVRADSTA Bar Harbor was involved in radio intercept activities as early as November, 1931. The station was subsequently relocated across Frenchman Bay, to NSGA Winter Harbor, in early 1935. Radio interception gradually supplemented HFDF as a form of communications intelligence. Site selection for interception operations was similar to that for HFDF stations. Navy Direction Finding Station, Bar Harbor, ME Nov 1931 Early 1935 at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Bar Harbor, ME =================================================================================== Brazil Bahia, São Salvador da Baía, Brazil Belem, Pará, Brazil Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil Recife, Pina, Pernambuco, Brazil Bahia, São Salvador da Baía, Brazil Salvador (in full, São Salvador da Baía de Todos os Santos, or in literal translation: "Holy Savior of All Saints' Bay") is a city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. The city was for a long time also known as Bahia, and appears under that name (or as Salvador da Bahia, Salvador of Bahia so as to differentiate it from other Brazilian cities of the same name) on many maps and books from before the mid 20th century. Salvador is the third most populous Brazilian city, after São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and it is the most populous city in Northeastern Brazil, being a cultural reference in Brazil for its cuisine, music and architecture. Its metropolitan area is the wealthiest in the northeastern region. 80% of the population of Salvador is of Black African origin, and African influence in all cultural aspects of the city turns it into the epicenter of "Negro culture" in Brazil. The historical center of the Salvador, frequently called the Pelourinho, is extremely rich in historical monuments dating from the 17th through the 19th centuries and has was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985. Salvador is located on a small, roughly triangular peninsula that separates Todos os Santos Bay from the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The bay, which gets its name from having been discovered on All Saints' Day forms a superb natural harbor, and Salvador is a major export port, lying at the heart of the Recôncavo Baiano, a rich agricultural and industrial region encompassing the northern portion of coastal Bahia. The local terrain is diverse ranging from flat to rolling to hills and low mountains. Those first Europeans were Spaniards under the command of Vicente Yáñez Pinzón, who on January 26, 1500, landed to the north of what is now Bahia, close to the location of present-day Recife (capital of the state of Pernambuco). Pinzón had also been the captain of the Niña (as in the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria) when Christopher Columbus made his maiden voyage to the New World. Next to arrive was the fleet of Pedro Álvares Cabral, who was actually on his way to India via a wide southernly swing out into the Atlantic Ocean (to avoid unfavorable currents) before heading east around Africa's Cape of Good Hope. Cabral's fleet landed in the territory which would come to be called "Brazil" (in English anyway; in Portuguese it's "Brasil") on the April 21, 1500, anchoring at a site he named "Porto Seguro" (or "Safe Port"). Porto Seguro is now a town located in present-day Bahia). Cabral hadn't planned on landing there, at least not openly so. Common wisdom is that he was blown off course, but some people believe that he'd been secretly instructed by King Dom Manuel I to land for purpose of securing Portugal's rights to the territory. Whatever the case he did claim for Portugal the ground upon which he stood (this was on the 22nd of April, the day he himself went ashore), calling it the Ilha da Vera Cruz (Island of the True Cross). When it was discovered he'd actually been standing on a continent -- not an island -- the name was changed to Terra da Vera Cruz (Land of the True Cross). Then on November 1, 1501, a ship captained by Amerigo Vespucci put into an enormous bay (November 1st is All Saints Day, and for this reason Amerigo named the bay "Bahia de Todos os Santos" -- "Bay of All Saints"). Amerigo also gave his own name to the entire continent via the use of a latinized form of it by mapmaker Martin Walseemüller in 1507. "America" at first applied only to the continent of South America. Although Baía de Todos os Santos was first encountered by Europeans and christened in 1502, the city of Salvador was not founded until 1549 by a fleet of Portuguese settlers headed by Tomé de Sousa, the first Governor-General of Brazil. Built in a high cliff overlooking All Saints bay as the first colonial capital of Brazil, it quickly became its main sea port and an important center of the sugar industry and the slave trade. Since its birth, Salvador was divided into an upper and a lower city. The upper city was the administrative and main religious area and it was where the majority of the population lived. The lower city was the financial center, with a port and market. In the last century, funiculars and an elevator, the Elevador Lacerda, were built to link both areas. Salvador was the first capital of Brazil and remained so until 1763, when it was succeeded by Rio de Janeiro, the new economic power center of that era. The city became a base for the Brazilian independence movement and was attacked by Portuguese troops in 1812, before being officially liberated on July 2, 1823. It settled into graceful decline over the next 150 years, out of the mainstream of Brazilian industrialization. It remains, however, a national cultural and tourist center. By 1948 the city had some 340,000 people, and was already Brazil's fourth largest city. By 1991 the population was 2.08 million. Belem, Pará, Brazil Belém is a city in the northern part of Brazil. It is the capital and also the largest city of the state of Pará. Its metropolitan area has approximately 2.09 million inhabitants. It is the entrance gate and, together with Manaus, the most important city in the north of Brazil. It is also known as Metropolis of the Brazilian Amazon region or Cidade das Mangueiras (city of mango trees) due to the number of those trees found in the city. Belém is served by the Val de Cães International Airport that connects the city to the rest of the country and other cities in South America. Brazilians often refer to the city as Belém do Pará ("Belém of Pará") rather than just Belém so as to differentiate it from Bethlehem in the West Bank. The city was founded on January 12, 1616 by Capitain Francisco Caldeiras de Castelo Branco, who was sent by the Portuguese crown to defend the region against French, Dutch and British colonization attempts. For this purpose, he built a fortress called Forte do Presépio (currently called Forte do Castelo). Initially, the city was named Feliz Lusitânia. Later it was renamed to Santa Maria do Grão Pará as well as Santa Maria de Belém do Grão Pará, finally receiving its current name Belém. Belém was the first European colony on the Amazon, but didn't become part of the Brazilian nation until 1775. Remote from the rest of the county and strongly linked to Portugal, Belém accepted Brazil's independence only in August 1823, almost one year after its declaration. In 1835, it was a town of about 13,000, and extended on a grid pattern for a mere eight or nine blocks from the banks of the Pará River. A small hill overlooking the main harbour was topped by a colonial Portuguese fort and shore batteries. Between 1835 and 1840 Belém witnessed the Revolta dos Cabanos also known as the Cabanagem, a revolt considered to have had the most authentic popular participation in the country's history. As the gateway to the Amazon, the port and city grew tremendously in size and importance during the nineteenth century rubber boom. Belém is one of Brazil's busiest ports, about 60 miles upriver from the Atlantic ocean. The river is the Pará, part of the greater Amazon river system, separated from the larger part of the Amazon delta by Ilha de Marajó. Belém is built on a number of small islands intersected by channels and other rivers. Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil Natal is the capital city of Rio Grande do Norte, a north eastern state in Brazil. The implementation of the Coastal Highway, a 4.9 mile long avenue along the shore, was the true starting point for the beginning of tourist activity in the State in the 1980s. That is where the main hotels and restaurants of the capital city, Natal, are concentrated. Improvements in tourist infrastructure and conservation of the natural heritage are some of the actions given priority ever since by the state government. One of the highlights was the creation of the Dune State Park, which aims to preserve the chain of sand dunes that surround the city. And thus, Natal became the entry gate to the beautiful beaches of the State of Rio Grande do Norte. Many of them are still semi-wild, such as Pipa and Pirangi; and others are the liveliest, such as Genipabu and Tibau do Sul. The Augusto Severo International Airport connects Natal with many Brazilian cities and also operates some international flights. The northeastern tip of South America, Cabo São Roque, 20 miles to the north of Natal and the closest point to Europe from Latin America, was first visited by European navigators in 1501, in the 1501-1502 Portuguese expedition led by Amerigo Vespucci, who named the spot after the saint of the day. For decades thereafter, no permanent European settlement was established in the area, inhabited by the Potiguar tribe. In 1597, after some years during which French pirates, led by Jacques Riffault, established regular commercial activities with the native population, the ninth Portuguese Governor-General of Brazil, Francisco de Sousa, ordered the expulsion of the buccaneers. The successful expedition was led by the Captain-Major of the Captaincy of Pernambuco, Manuel de Mascarenhas Homem, with the assistance of Jerônimo de Albuquerque Maranhão. Albuquerque Maranhão began on January 6, 1598 the construction of the Fort of the Holy Kings or of the Magi-Kings ("Forte dos Santos Reis" or "Forte dos Reis Magos"), named after the Three Wise Men, honored in the Christian feast of the Epiphany, celebrated on that day. On December 25, 1599, Natal (whose name means Nativity or Christmas in Portuguese) was established as a village outside the fort. The fort, city, and surrounding areas were occupied by Dutch forces from 1633 to 1654. The sandy soil of Natal prevented the city from becoming a producer of sugarcane, during the colonial times. For centuries, the economy of the State was based on the raising of cattle in the dry interior lands; the cattle was sent alive to the larger centers, to be used as traction, or was turned into jerked beef, to be used as food; the most typical food of Natal, "carne de sol" (sun meat), has origins in that jerked beef. Last century, Natal benefited from the growth of the industries of salt (the north of Rio Grande do Norte is the largest producer in Brazil) and petroleum (the largest inland Brazilian reserves are in the State). Natal grew quickly, but in a somewhat planned way (compared to other major Brazilian cities); transit flows smoothly, public services are well distributed, ecologic conscience is visible; violence levels are low. Tourists (first Brazilians, more recently foreigners) discovered the city, which became one of the major tourist destinations in Brazil. Because of its strategic position (Natal is one of the cities in Brazil nearest to Western Europe and Africa, especially Dakar, Senegal), an American Air Base was built in a suburb of Natal, named Parnamirim during World War II, as part of Operation Rainbow. This base provided support for allied troops, who launched air raids on German-occupied North Africa. Thousands of American soldiers were sent to Natal, and their presence left traces in the culture of the city. Recife, Pina, Pernambuco, Brazil Recife (Portuguese for reef) is the second largest city in the Northeastern Region of Brazil, the largest metropolitan area and one of the most important cultural, economic, political and science-minded city in the region. It is the fifth largest metropolitan area in Brazil and the capital of Pernambuco. Recife is where the Beberibe River meets the Capibaribe River to flow into the Atlantic Ocean. It is a major port on the Atlantic Ocean. Recife is served by Guararapes International Airport. Surrounded by rivers and crossed by bridges, Recife is full of islands and mangroves. It is known as the Brazilian Venice, thanks to its fluvial resemblance with that European city, and is considered one of Brazil's cultural capitals. The area around Recife was one of the first in Brazil to be settled by the Portuguese Crown. In 1534, King John III of Portugal divided Brazil into Hereditary Captaincies (Capitanias Hereditárias, in Portuguese); the Portuguese realized that they had no human or financial resources to invest in such a large and distant colony, and decided to assign this task to private entrepreneurs, called Donatários (this system had already been successful in the settlement of the Portuguese colonies in Africa). Because of several problems (the most obvious being the lack of support from the Portuguese metropolis), most Captaincies failed. One of the few to prosper was the Captaincy of Pernambuco, which was assigned to Duarte Coelho Pereira (the man who founded Olinda and became famous for expressing his enchantment with the beauty of the place, giving the name to the city). Pernambuco prospered from the sugarcane industry (beet sugar was not industrially produced in Europe until the beginning of the 19th century). At the time, in Europe, sugarcane plantations could be grown only in Andalusia and the Algarve; in the 1420s, sugarcane was carried to the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Azores; the sugar from Brazil was muchly appreciated in Europe. Duarte Coelho found in Pernambuco plenty of fertile land and an excellent climate for the cultivation of cane; all he needed was labor to work in the crops and to keep the "engenhos" (rustic wooden machinery) moving. At first, the Portuguese tried to use the indigenous peoples of Brazil, but they soon realized that the indigenous culture was not compatible with the work in the engenhos. The solution was to import black slaves from Africa; from the 16th to the 19th century, Pernambuco received many slaves, making it one of the Brazilian States where black culture has the most visible traces (in dance, music, culinary, etc). Alone, this mixture of Portuguese, Indians and black slaves would be enough to make Recife one of the most culturally diverse cities in Brazil. The Dutch added to the mix. From 1580 to 1640, the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal were unified under the rule of the Spain. Spain was engaged in a war against the Netherlands, and determined that the Dutch, who were the main distributors of Brazilian sugar in Europe, would be prohibited from coming to Brazil. The Dutch decided to invade several sugar producing cities in Brazil, including Salvador (Bahia) and Natal. From 1630 to 1654, they took control of Recife and Olinda. During this period, Recife became one of the most cosmopolitan cities of the world. The first Jewish community and the first synagogue of the Americas was founded in the city. The inhabitants fought on their own to expel the Dutch, being helped by the Dutch being otherwise occupied with the First Anglo-Dutch War. This was known as the Insurreição Pernambucana (Pernambucan Insurrection). Most of the Jews fled to Amsterdam; others fled to North America, starting the first Jewish community of New Amsterdam (now known as New York City). During the 18th century, riots spread throughout the city, in which the rich farmers of Olinda and the traders from Recife clashed. Recife had a clear advantage in relation to Olinda: Olinda has no harbour, while Recife's Harbor is one of the largest on the Atlantic. Recife's victory asserted the supremacy of its bourgeoisie over the decadent sugar aristocrats of Olinda. This was a decisive factor for Recife's growth. Recife is now a large city whereas Olinda is a small historical town. Pernambuco State has the 5th highest sugarcane Brazilian production. Brazil is by far the largest producer of alcohol fuel in the world, typically fermenting ethanol from sugarcane and sugar beets. The country produces a total of 18 billion liters annually, of which 3.5 billion are exported, 2 billion of them to the U.S. Alcohol cars debuted in the Brazilian market in 1978 and became quite popular because of heavy subsidy, but in the 80's prices rose and gasoline regained the leading market share. But from 2004 on, alcohol is rapidly rising its market share once again because of new technologies involving hybrid fuel car engines called "Flex" by all major car manufacturers (Volkswagen, General Motors, Ford, Peugeot, Honda, Citroën, Fiat, etc.). "Flex" engines work with gasoline, alcohol or any mixture of both fuels. As of February 2007, approximately 80% of new vehicles sold in Brazil are hybrid fuel. Because of the Brazilian leading production and technology, many countries became very interested in importing alcohol fuel and adopting the "Flex" vehicle concept. On March 7, 2007, U.S. president George W. Bush visited the city of São Paulo to sign agreements with Brazilian president Lula on importing alcohol and its technology as an alternative fuel. U.S. Bases in Brazil during World War II In July 1941, The U.S. Government agreed to cooperate with Brazil in the protection of her vulnerable northeast coastline. A contract was made with a Pan American World Airways subsidiary, the Airport Development Program, to build and operate airbases at Natal, Bahia, and São Luís. Airbases had already been built in Africa under the Airport Development Program. The South Atlantic air route was established from the U.S. through Brazil to Africa, then on to Great Britain, and the Far East. The U.S. Army had planned the airfields in 1940, solely as a hemisphere defense measure. American ground and air forces would now be required to protect the string of vital airfields, extending from the Guianas to Natal, against sabotage or external attack. As construction progressed, and the airfields became partially usable in the latter half of 1941, they began to serve a new purpose. They became essential links in the South Atlantic airway, over which airplanes were being ferried and high- priority materials were transported to British forces in Africa and the Middle East. In conjunction with the operation of these bases, and equally important to the Allied cause, was the permission granted by the Brazilian Government to use them for refueling and servicing American-built Lend-Lease aircraft, manned by civilian crews, bound for the British Royal Air Force. Shortly after the U.S. declared war, unrestricted ferrying of personnel and materiel by the U.S. Army through these bases was allowed. The Lend-Lease Act, passed in March 1941, authorized the War Department to supply war materiel to Allied countries. Approximately $25 billion worth of supplies and equipment was forwarded under this program, the majority of which went to the British. In view of improvement of the air-ground defense of Brazil, and its acknowledged assistance in the prosecution of the war, the U.S.-Brazilian Mutual Pact Agreement was approved on May 27, 1942. One of the important provisions of this pact was for the U.S. to come to the assistance of Brazil, if the latter were attacked by the Axis Powers. On August 22, 1942, Brazil declared war on Germany and Italy, the first South American country to do so. In 1941, Brazil permitted the U.S. to set up air bases in Bahia (São Salvador da Baía), Recife in Pernambuco and Natal in Rio Grande do Norte. Beginning in June, 1941, U.S. Navy surface vessels of the Navy's South Atlantic patrol force began to utilize the ports of Recife and Bahia as operating bases. At the end of October, 1941, the Navy Department insisted that Natal must become "a Naval Base and Naval Command." At the end of November, 1941, the Navy Department again asked "that the Army postpone further requests to base troops or planes in Brazil, until after the Navy is fully established there." On December 11, 1941, the U.S. Navy's VP-52 patrol squadron reached the Brazilian port city of Natal, Brazil. On December 15, 1941, three fifty-man U.S. Marine Corps companies, the 17th, 18th, and 19th Marine Provisional Companies, departed from Quantico by air to Brazil; for the express purpose of guarding the airfields at Belém, Natal, and Recife, until a reinforced U.S. Army infantry regiment could be dispatched. The remainder of a reinforced U.S. Army division was to follow, as soon as additional sea transportation could be arranged. Brazil had consented to admit U.S. Marines under the guise of technicians for servicing aircraft. The three companies arrived on December 19, 1941, and were dispatched to the airfields at Belém, Natal, and Recife. On March 9, 1942, President Vargas of Brazil approved "a wide reaching program for Northeast Brazil" that included the stationing of eight hundred additional U.S. Army maintenance personnel, new construction, and unrestricted flight privileges for Army aircraft. In mid April, 1942, The first increment of the reinforcement, six B-25's and six P-40's, departed from the U.S. Army Air Corps, Bolling Field in Washington DC. A contingent of 150 U.S. Army officers and enlisted men also arrived in Northeast Brazil. By December 1942, the U.S. Army had established a theater organization in Northeast Brazil, designated the U.S. Army Forces South Atlantic. On April 7, 1942, additional VP patrol aircraft began arriving at Natal, Brazil, for operations in the South Atlantic. In addition to the patrol squadrons in Natal, the Navy's South Atlantic Force, began operations with the Brazilian Naval and Air Forces in the spring of 1942. Headquartered at Recife, the South Atlantic Force (redesignated the U.S. Fourth Fleet in March, 1943), commanded by Vice Admiral Jonas H. Ingram, was a relatively small light cruiser and destroyer force with a very wide field of operations and a variety of duties. It ranged from the western South Atlantic, escorted convoys, intercepted blockade runners that operated from the Far East around Cape Horn to Axis Europe, and searched for Axis submarines and surface raiders. The patrolling ships provided protection to the long coast line of Brazil from Bahia northward, as well as to the mid-ocean garrison of American forces, established on Ascension Island in 1942. Navy seaplanes began operating from Brazilian bases in December, 1941. In April, 1942, the Navy brought in land-based amphibian planes, to operate in patrols from the air bases at Natal and Recife. On April 27, 1942, the Joint Chiefs of Staff directed that the U.S. Navy be given the use of U.S. Army facilities at the air bases being manned in Belem, Natal and Recife; as necessary for the operation and maintenance of land-based, carrier-based, or amphibian type aircraft. Shortly thereafter, Brazil declared war on Germany and Italy on August 22, 1942. Eight days after the Brazilian declaration of war, Admiral Ingram announced that as senior U.S. commander in the area, he was assuming operational command as Chief of the Allied Forces in the South Atlantic. A few days later, Admiral Ingram and the British West African Naval Commander met and the U.S. Navy and British Royal Navy arranged a geographical division of the South Atlantic, that made its western half, to and including Ascension Island, an American defense responsibility. On September 16, 1942, VADM Ingram's command, formerly Task Force 23, was redesignated as the South Atlantic Force, Atlantic Fleet. Officially, on November 24, 1942, (actually in early December) the U.S. Army theater headquarters at Recife was established as the U.S. Army Forces South Atlantic. A separate South Atlantic Wing headquarters had been established at Natal on November 10, 1942. U.S. South Atlantic Force operations in Brazil came to an end soon after Japan's surrender. Preparations for the reduction and close-out of U.S. Army and U.S. Navy operations in Brazil began in March, 1945. U.S. Naval forces began withdrawing from Brazil in June, 1945. The U.S. Naval Operating Facility at Belem (which opened on March 26, 1943); and the U.S. Naval Air Facility at Belem (which opened on November 26, 1943) both closed on June 15, 1945. The U.S. Naval Air Facility at Natal (which opened on March 27, 1943); and the U.S. Naval Operating Facility at Natal (which opened on September 26, 1943) both closed on June 24, 1945. The U.S. Naval Air Facility Aratu in Bahia (which opened on November 26, 1943); and the U.S. Naval Operating Facility, Pici Field in Fortaleza (which opened on March 27, 1943) both closed on June 30, 1945. The U.S. Naval Operating Facility at Recife (which had opened on March 27, 1943); and the U.S. Naval Air Facility at Recife (which had opened on October 1, 1943) both closed on July 17, 1945. The U.S. Army Forces South Atlantic theater organization was inactivated on October 31, 1945; and the few remaining U.S. Army troops were turned over to the South Atlantic Wing of the Air Transport Command. In November, 1945, the U.S. Army Air Transport Command closed, the last unit to depart Brazil. Bahia, Brazil Navy Direction Finding Station, Bahia, Brazil 14 Sep 1943 30 Jun 1945 Transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard Belem, Brazil Naval Supplementary Radio Station (DF), Belem, Brazil Sep 1943 15 Jun 1945 Transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil Navy Direction Finding Station, Natal, Rio Grande, Aug 1943 Jun 1945 Brazil Transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard Point Santa Cruz, Brazil Navy Direction Finding Station, Point Santa Cruz, Brazil Aug 1943 Jun 1945 Transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard Recife, Brazil Naval Supplementary Radio Station (DF RI), Recife, Brazil Jul 1943 17 Jul 1945 Naval Communications Unit (NAVCOMMUNIT 33) 17 Jul 1945 31 Dec 1956 Transferred to Brazilian Navy Santos, Brazil Navy Direction Finding Station, Santos, Brazil Aug 1943 Jun 1945 Transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard =================================================================================== Brownsville, Texas Brownsville is a city in Texas, the county seat of Cameron County, and the southern- most city in Texas. The population was 139,722 at the 2000 census. Brownsville is located on the U.S.-Mexico border, at the Rio Grande or Río Bravo del Norte) opposite Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Brownsville is the largest city in the Rio Grande Valley, both in population and size. Fort Brown (1846-1906, 1913-1946), an American earthen star-shaped fort originally was named Fort Texas and then Fort Taylor. In 1845, construction of a fort on the Mexicao border was commisioned, due to increased instability in the region. The government reservation of the original post was built on a tract of land containing 358 acres, situated on the Rio Grande immediately adjacent to Brownsville. Fort Texas was established on March 28, 1846, by General Zachary Taylor and was called Fort Taylor prior to May 17, 1846. The construction of the fort helped precipitate the onset of the Mexican-American War. Before completion, the Mexican Army began at the Siege of Fort Texas, during the first active campaign in the Mexican-American War, between May 3-9, 1846. The first battle of the war occurred on May 8, 1846, when General Zachary Taylor received word of the siege of the fort. They rushed to help, but were intercepted, resulting in the Battle of Palo Alto about 5 miles north of present day Brownsville. On May 9, 1846, the Mexican forces had retreated, and Taylor's troops caught up with them, resulting in the Battle of Resaca de la Palma, which was fought within the bounds of the present Brownsville city limits. When General Taylor finally arrived at the beseiged Fort Taylor, he discovered that two soldiers had died, one of which was the fort's commander, Major Jacob Brown. General Taylor renamed the fort as Fort Brown on May 17, 1846, in his honor. The post was heavily garrisoned for the remainder of the war, and in 1848, became a permanent post. The town of Brownsville grew up adjacent to it. Brownsville Barracks was built in 1848, adjacent to the fort. During the 1850s, it protected the area from hostile Indians and kept a check on border disputes. Colonel Robert E. Lee was stationed there for a short time, in the late 1950's. Fort Brown was briefly abandoned in 1859, for Fort Duncan. In 1861, the Federal troops evacuated Fort Brown and were replaced by Texas State troops. Fort Brown was occupied by the Confederates from 1861 to 1863. With the southern Atlantic coast blockaded, Brownsville became a major Confederate port, with cotton for Europe passing south into Mexico and war material for the Confederacy passing north into Texas. To eliminate this trade, a Union army landed at the mouth of the Rio Grande in November 6, 1863, occupying Fort Brown and Brownsville. Eight months later, however, the Federal forces were driven out by a strong Confederate army on July 30, 1864, which held the fort until 1865, at the end of the Civil War. Fort Brown was reoccupied by Union forces after the war ended. Two bastions of the original fort still remain on the Riverview Municipal Golf Course. A new fort and barracks were built in 1867, adjacent to the original site, but were destroyed by a hurricane that same year. It was rebuilt again in 1869. The fort was abandoned in 1906, after conflicts with the local citizens. Fort Brown was regarrisoned in 1913, during border troubles with Mexico. A U.S. Naval Wireless (later Radio) Station, was established at Fort Brown, near Brownsville, TX and received its first ever transmission from the Naval Radio Station at Arlington VA, on October 7, 1914. Desegnated a Naval Radio Station in 1915 (medium power transmitter), the Navy Radio Station Brownsville, TX at Fort Brown, shifted to a low power transmitter on August 24, 1923. These transmitter power shifts likely indicated an advancement in powerful transmitters over the period, rather than a physical diminish- ment of the existing system. The Navy Radio Station transmitter at Fort Brown was still active in 1926. Its status after that year, until May, 1944, when Fort Brown was deactivated, is unknown. Fort Brown was also important during both World Wars. During the activation of forces for World War II, the 12th U.S. Cavalry was transferred from Fort Brown and replaced by the 124th Cavalry of the Texas National Guard, which was the last cavalry unit in the nation to give up their horses and also the last regiment housed at Fort Brown. The 124th left to fight in Burma in the Far East, leaving behind only a few soldiers at Fort Brown, until May, 1944, when it was deactivated and abandoned by the U.S. Army. Officially decommissioned in 1945, the Fort Brown property and buildings were sold to the City of Brownsville, which used the old buildings for city offices. By 1948, what was once Fort Brown belonged to either the City of Brownsville or Texas Southmost College. The area now houses various functions including the Brownsville General Services Administration, a civic center and Texas Southmost College, which occupied the remaining old fort buildings. Many of the original 1869 buildings are still in use today by the University of Texas, Brownsville. The city of Brownsville (named after the Fort) was originally established late in 1848, and was made the county seat of the new Cameron County on January 13, 1849. The city was originally incorporated by the state on January 24, 1850. This was repealed on April 1, 1852, due to a land ownership dispute. The state reincorporated the city on February 7, 1853, which remains in effect. During the Civil War, Brownsville was used as a smuggling point for Confederate goods into Mexico. Fort Brown was controlled by the Confederates. In November 1863, Union troops landed at Port Isabel and marched towards Brownsville to stop the smuggling. Confederate forces abandoned the fort, blowing it up with 8000 pounds of explosives. In 1864, the town was reoccupied by the Confederates. On May 15, 1865, a month after the surrender had been signed at Appomattox Court House, the Battle of Palmito Ranch was fought and won by the Confederades. On August 13th and 14th, 1906, Brownsville was the site of the Brownsville Raid. Racial tensions were high between white townsfolk and black infantrymen stationed at Fort Brown. Two white townspeople were killed in Brownsville. Townsfolk initially blamed the infantrymen as the murderers. Without a chance to defend themselves, President Roosevelt dishonorably discharged them due to their "conspiracy of silence". Further investigations in the 1970's found that they were not at fault, and the Nixon Administration reversed all their dishonorable discharges. Navy Direction Finding Station, Brownsville, TX at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Brownsville, TX Oct 1914 1926/1944 (?) =================================================================================== Burrwood, Louisiana Burrwood, a former village of Plaquemines parish, was located in extreme southeast Louisiana, on Southwest Pass, one of the three mouths of the Mississippi River, near the southwest extremity of the delta. Burrwood was 80 miles southeast of New Orleans and was the southernmost town in Louisiana. Burrwood was the headquarters for channel maintenance. The Southwest Pass lighthouse is on the opposite bank of the pass. Many oil wells and natural gas fields are in the vicinity. The community of Burrwood no longer exists. The nearest present day community is Port Eads, LA, which is 13 miles east northeast of the former location of Burrwood. Plaquemines Parish is the parish with the most combined land and water area in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Pointe à la Hache. As of 2000, the parish's population was 26,757. The name "Plaquemines" comes from a Native American word, piakimin, meaning persimmon. It was first used to name an old military post on the banks of the Mississippi, which was surrounded by a large number of persimmon trees. Eventually the name was applied to the entire parish. Because Plaquemines Parish encompasses the first 70 miles of the Mississippi River, it plays host to several oil refineries, which make use of the shipping lanes. The Mississippi River Delta of Plaquemines also provides assistance to offshore oil rigs. Plaquemines Parish was also the first place where a container was first used to ship cargo in foreign trade. The Southwest Pass Entrance Lighthouse was established in 1831. The first lighthouse tower fell into the Mississippi River during a storm in 1837. In 1838, Congress approved a new tower at Southwest Pass. In 1839, the new brick conical lighthouse tower was built. In 1849, the lighthouse stood in 10 feet water during a storm surge. In 1855, the Lighthouse Board received $45,000 for an iron tower to replace the crumbling brick tower. The Board ordered the basic metalwork, but another $70,000 was needed to complete the tower. In 1861, Congress supplied full funding for the lighthouse, but construction was discontinued, due to the Civil War. Union forces stole the lens from the old lighthouse. In 1863, a 4th order lens was placed back in the old tower. The Lighthouse Board asked Congress for a re-appropriation of the necessary funds to finish the lighthouse. Congress approved $108,000.00. Construction began on the iron structure in 1870, and was completed in 1873, with a first Fresnel order lens installed, which was first lit on July 1, 1873. In 1894, a fire gutted the dwelling, melted the iron stairs, destroyed the lantern and the whole central cylinder was replaced with a skeletal tower. The skeletal lighthouse was deactivated sometime in 1953. In 1962, a concrete and steel replacement lighthouse was built above a keeper's dwelling, on pilings. The first order Fresnel lens was re-lit in the new tower in 1962. The lighthouse was automated in 1985 and keepers were no longer required. The Southwest Pass Entrance Lighthouse is maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard, and is still operational as a Coast Guard Active Aid to Navigation. In the early 1900s, Plaquemines Parish was an exporter of citrus, and used the train and the river to move its large annual harvest. The parish has also been a big commercial fisheries haven, especially for oysters. From 1919 to 1969, Plaquemines Parish (together with neighbouring St. Bernard Parish), was effectively the domain of political boss Leander Perez, who established a virtual dictatorship in the area. He was notorious for fixing elections and mandating strict racial segregation. One of the remaining historical treasures of Plaquemines Parish is Fort Jackson, built in 1822 under the recommendation of General Andrew Jackson, hero of the Battle of New Orleans; it was completed in 1832. In 1861, Fort Jackson served as an important defense for the city of New Orleans during the Civil War, because it was at the mouth of the Mississippi River. The Confederates gained control in 1861, but the fort was captured by the Union in 1862. Farragut besieged the fort and, after a ten day exchange of artillery, he succeeded in moving his force up river where they captured New Orleans. The original fort still stands and is remarkably intact. It was restored to some extent in 1898, and during during World War I, it was also used as a training base (1917-1918). The post was sold in 1927, and restored in 1962, and completely flooded by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, with extensive damage. Picture at link: . Fort St. Philip (1761-1765, 1792-1923), lies directly across the Mississippi River from Fort Jackson, at Bayou Mardi Gras. A small French work known as Fort St. Philippe (1761-1765) was first located here. It was abandoned. The Spanish then built Fort San Felipe de Placaminas (1792-1803), which came to the Americans in 1803, with the Louisiana Purchase. It was also known as Fort Plaquemines and Fort at Plaquemines Bend. It was strengthened in 1814 after a British Naval attack, and rebuilt in 1841. Controlled by the Confederates from 1861-1862, the fort was captured by the Union in 1862, along with Fort Jackson. Abandoned in 1871, but regarrisoned after smuggled liquor was found here. In 1872, the gun batteries were reworked and joined together with a new section along the front of the fort to form a continuous 25 gun battery. At least ten guns were mounted by the 1890's. High tide usually floods the lower levels of the batteries and magazines. Access is by boat only. Fort St. Philip was sold in 1923, and is now private property. During World War I, a Navy Direction Finding Station was located at the Burrwood Naval Station, co-located within the U.S. Naval Radio Station, Burrwood, LA. The Navy Direction Finding Station was disestablished in 1923. During the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, city and state leaders used dynamite to breech a levee at Caernarvon, thirteen miles below Canal Street, in order to save the city of New Orleans from flooding. However, this action resulted in the flooding of both St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes, causing widespread destruction. During World War II, a Naval Section Base and Naval Frontier Base was located at Burrwood, part of the 8th Naval District, headquartered in New Orleans. Two commands were located at Burrwood, the Degaussing Range (Southwest Pass), Burrwood, LA, and the Commander Frontier Bases, 8th Naval District, Burrwood, LA. On September 24, 1956, Hurricane Flossy completely submerged Grand Isle and caused extensive coastal erosion as it moved across the Mississippi Delta. Burrwood reported winds up to 90 mph. Rain totals reached 16.7 inches at Golden Meadow. Hundreds lost their homes in the storm. Cattle were drowned and citrus, sugar cane, and pecan crops were heavily damaged. The eastern sections of the New Orleans seawall were overtopped, flooding 2.5 square miles. A storm surge of 13 feet was seen at Ostrica Lock. The storm killed 15 and caused $22 million in damages. On September 15th, 1960, Hurricane Ethel quickly developed in the Central Gulf of Mexico, before accelerating northward along the extreme southeast sections of the Mississippi Delta, before moving inland at Biloxi. Hurricane force winds were seen in Lower Plaquemines Parish. Venice had sustained winds of 90 mph with gusts to 104 mph. Burrwood saw gusts to 69 mph. The highest tide noted was 7 feet above sea level on Quarantine Bay. Storm surges inundated the coast from the mouth of the Mississippi east to St. Marks, FL. One of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history struck Louisiana on August 29, 2005. Hurricane Katrina struck and did severe damage to all of Southeast Louisiana. Martial law was not declared in Plaquemines, contrary to many media reports, as no such term exists in Louisiana state law. No place escaped without some damage, while most of the rest of Plaquemines, Orleans and neighbouring St. Bernard Parish were severely hit; Pointe à la Hache, Port Sulphur, Buras-Triumph, Empire, Boothville- Venice, Phoenix, and Venice, Louisiana suffered tremendous damage. Amidst heavy rains accompanied by hurricane force winds in excess of 120 mph at initial landfall (with a Category 3 storm surge), the levees failed and broke, and the storm surge that flowed in was more than 20 feet high. Although a good majority of the populace did heed mandatory evacuation orders, some did not. At least three residents died. Navy Direction Finding Station, Burrwood, LA 1923 at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Burrwood, LA =================================================================================== Cabo Rojo, Mayaguez District, Boquerón, Puerto Rico Cabo Rojo (Kah-bo, Ro-ho) located on the Western Costal Valley. Bordering the Caribbean Sea; and the Mona Passage, south of Mayagüez and Hormigueros; and east of Hormigueros, San Germán and Lajas spread over 18 wards and Cabo Rojo Pueblo, the downtown area and the administrative center of the city. Cabo Rojo is known as "El Pueblo de Cofresí" (Cofresí's town). Cabo Rojo was founded on December 17, 1771 by Nicolás Ramírez de Arellano and Miguel de Muesas. It is said that Cabo Rojo obtained its name from the considerable amount of minerals found in its coasts that made the waters look reddish. Cabo is the Spanish word for tip and analogous to the English word Cape in this context. The word rojo, translates to red. According to legend, the name was given by Christopher Columbus himself, although this is highly unlikely. The first church, founded in 1783, was called San José. The present-day main catholic church is called San Miguel Arcángel located in the town's square. The bay at Boquerón, part of the Municipality of Cabo Rojo, extends some 3 1/2 miles inland, sheltering over a mile of white sand bordered by clear water. People from Combate are known as mata con hacha ("those who kill with axes") based on an old folk tale about a fight over the Salinas where those from Cabo Rojo fought with axes against people from the adjacent town of Lajas. The latter apparently fought back by throwing stones and are thus known as tira piedras ("those who throw stones"). The famous Cabo Rojo lighthouse, Los Morrillos Lighthouse, known by locals as El Faro, was built in 1881 over limestone cliffs that drop 200 feet into the sea. This old lighthouse was automated and electrically charged in 1967 and is considered to have some, if not the, most spectacular ocean views in Puerto Rico's West Coast. The lighthouse has undergone recent renovations, of which has created controversy because of the quality of work. As most locals and scholars believe, the internal structure was gutted leaving nothing of historical significance behind. Limestone cliffs near the Los Morrillos Lighthouse. The lighthouse is located near the Salinas, or salt mines. These salt mines are reported to be the oldest industry in the New World. Salt has been mined in this site non-stop since the times of the Taínos. Although Cabo Rojo lacks an airport, it is approximately 11 miles from the Eugenio Maria de Hostos Airport, a commercial airport that serves direct flights to and from San Juan. Cabo Rojo has grown tremendously in the last few years as evidenced by its recent accreditation as a city. Cabo Rojo nearest airport servicing international destinations is only 45 min away in the city of Aguadilla. Rafael Hernandes Airport. This airport was part of the now deactivated Ramey Air Force Base. Communications Support Activity (DF), San Juan, 1938 Jan 1952 Carolina, PR Radio Intercept Station established at San Geronimo Jan 1940 Direction Finding (DF) moved to Cabo Rojo Feb 1942 Radio Intercept (RI) moved to NSG Det, Sabana Seca, PR Jan 1952 Navy Direction Finding Station, Cabo Rojo, PR Feb 1942 Jan 1943 Moved to Trinidad Navy Direction Finding Station, Trinidad Jan 1943 Jul 1945 Transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard Navy Direction Finding Station, Trinidad (reopened) 1952 ??? ???? Naval Communications Unit (NAVCOMMUNIT 41) 1952 ??? ???? =================================================================================== Cape Elizabeth, Maine Cape Elizabeth is a town in Cumberland County, Maine. The population was 9,068 at the 2000 census. A residential and resort area situated on the southern shore of Casco Bay, just south of Portland, Cape Elizabeth is home to Crescent Beach State Park and Two Lights State Park. Cape Elizabeth History At the southern tip of the promontory, Richmond's Island was visited about 1605 by Samuel de Champlain. John Smith explored and mapped New England in 1615, and gave names to places mainly based on the names used by Native Americans. When Smith presented his map to King Charles I, he suggested that the king should feel free to change any of the "barbarous names" for English ones. The king made many such changes, but only four survive today, one of which is Cape Elizabeth, which Charles named in honor of his sister, Elizabeth of Bohemia. The first habitation by Europeans was on Richmond's Island. Without title, Walter Bagnall (called "Great Walt") in 1628 established a trading post, dealing in rum and beaver skins, trading with the Indians, "without scruple about his methods." His cheating caught up with him in October of 1631, when he was killed by the Indians, who also burned down his trading post. Two months later, the Plymouth Company granted Richmond's Island to Robert Trelawney and Moses Goodyear, merchants of Plymouth, England, who made it a center for fisheries and trade. By 1638, Trelawney employed 60 men in the fisheries. The first settlers on the mainland were George Cleeve and Richard Tucker, who settled in 1630 on the shore opposite the island, and near the Spurwink River. They worked at planting, fishing and trading. Two years later they were driven off by John Winter, Trelawny's agent. In 1636, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, Lord Proprietor of Maine, gave Cleeve and Tucker a grant of 1500 acres, including the neck of land called "Machegonne", now Portland. In 1643. English Parliamentarian Marshall Cowface bought the large existing "Plough" of "Lygonia" patent, which included the entire area, including Cape Elizabeth. The Cape Elizabeth settlement located on the Fore River would be known as "Purpoodock." It was attacked during King Philip's War in 1675, then destroyed in 1703. It was resettled about 1719 or 1720. Cape Elizabeth became Maine's twenty third town on November 1, 1765, when it separated from "Falmouth," as Portland was then known. Its first town meeting was held on December 2, 1765. On August 23, 1775 it was incorporated as a town. On March 15, 1895 to town was split, a portion forming South Portland and the remainder retaining the name Cape Elizabeth. Currently a wealthy suburb of Portland, the town has a scenic coastline and a series of attractions including Two Lights State Park, Crescent Beach State Park, Fort Williams, and Portland Head Light. Cape Elizabeth Light Two rubblestone lighthouse towers were first erected on Cape Elizabeth in 1828, at a cost of $4,250. The first keeper was appointed in October, 1828, at a salary of $450 per year. In 1855, Fresnel lenses were installed and in 1869 a giant steam whistle was set up for use in foggy weather. In 1873, the original rubble towers were taken down and two cast iron edifices were erected, 300 yards apart. The new lighthouse towers were first lit in 1874. One was a fixed and one a flashing light. A fog siren replaced the locomotive whistle. The towers were equipped with second order Fresnel lenses in 1874. In 1924, the west tower of Cape Elizabeth Light was deactivated. On December 20, 1925, the east light was electrified and increased to 500,000 candlepower, which at the time made it the second most powerful light in New England (after Highland Light on Cape Cod). During World War II, the lantern was removed from the discontinued west light and the tower was converted into an observation post. After its military use in World War II, the west tower passed into private ownership. It was sold to the highest bidder in 1959, along with several buildings and 10.5 acres of land. In 1971, it was purchased by actor Gary Merrill (Bette Davis' ex-husband) for $28,000. The west light was sold twice in the 1980s. The 1878 Victorian principal keeper's house is now privately owned. An assistant keeper's house was incorporated into a new home, and another assistant keeper's house was torn down. Both towers are still standing at the south entrance to Portland Harbor. The white conical towers are 67 feet above the ground and 129 feet above the water. The lighthouse beacon in the east tower was automated in 1963, and keepers were no longer required. The 1,800-pound second order Fresnel lens was removed in 1994. Local residents lobbied for the preservation and display of the lens. It was the last lens floating on a mercury bath in use in New England. The lens is now on display at Cape Elizabeth Town Hall and is insured for up to $500,000. In 1990, the lighthouse property was leased to the Town of Cape Elizabeth. The Cape Elizabeth Light, one of the most handsome cast-iron lighthouses in New England, remains an active aid to navigation, with a 1,800,000 candlepower light, visible for 17 miles. The optic and related equipment are still maintained by the Coast Guard. It is adjacent to the 41-acre Two Lights State Park. The grounds immediately around the lighthouse are not open to the public. Fort Preble Fort Preble is a military fort in South Portland, Maine. Henry A. S. Dearborn built the fort in 1808, and named it in honor of Commodore Edward Preble. It was designed to guard Portland harbor in Casco Bay, along with Fort Scammel. Various units manned Fort Preble during the War of 1812. Among them were a elements of the Regiment of Light Artillery, the 21st, 33rd, and 34th Regiments of Infantry, as well as U.S. Volunteers, and in times of crisis, local militia. When Winfield Scott and other American soldiers returned from British imprisonment in Quebec, they were landed at Fort Preble. Many of them were emaciated and ill, and some died at this post's hospital. The fort saw action during during the Civil War, when Confederate Army raiders entered Portland Harbor aboard a captured ship named Archer on June 26, 1863. The Confederates captured the ship Caleb Cushing the next day, and attempted an escape. Calm seas forced them to set the ship on fire, and they were captured by Union forces. 23 Confederate prisoners were captured and taken to the fort. The fort remained manned through the Civil War, World War I, and World War II. It was decommissioned in 1950. Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse was built near the site in 1897. A 900-foot granite breakwater that extends from the Fort and surrounds the lighthouse was later added in 1951. Fort Williams In 1872, construction of an artillery base began around Portland Head Light. On April 13, 1899, President McKinley named Cape Elizabeth's first military fortification, Fort Williams; after Brevet Major General Seth Williams, Assistant Adjutant-General, United States Army, who served during the Civil War. The fort guarded the southern entrance to Portland Harbor. Active between 1899 and 1962, protecting the shoreline of Cape Elizabeth, the infantry and artillery units provided the Harbor Defense for Portland. The Fort included batteries, officers' quarters, barracks, a bakery, a hospital, a bandstand, a laundry, a fire station, and the Goddard Mansion. Some of these structures still stand today. During World War I, anti-aircraft guns were added to the fort's defenses and it was fully manned by artillery companies and National Guard troops. During World War II, Casco Bay was the home port for all the destroyers on the Atlantic coast, including the admiral's flagship. Fort Williams also served as the headquarters of the Portland Harbor Defenses. After the war, many of the forts in Casco Bay were closed, including Fort Williams, which traded in its defense of the coast for a caretaker status. Fort Williams provided Army Reserve accommodations, and logistical/administrative support for Army activities in Maine. Fort Williams was decommissioned in 1962, officially being deactivated on June 30, 1963, and put up for sale by the government. The U.S. Coast Guard continued to own and maintain Portland Head Lighthouse. The Town of Cape Elizabeth purchased the 90 acre Fort on December 1, 1964 for $200,000, and develoed Fort Williams Park. The old military buildings became Town property as well. Along with the various batteries is Goddard Mansion. Although not in the condition it was when Colonel John Goddard and his family lived in it during the mid to late 1800s, the walls of the great mansion still stand high on the hill overlooking Fort Williams. Today, Fort Williams Park includes the ruins of the Goddard Mansion and three battery posts; Portland Head Light (dating from 1790 and the first lighthouse constructed by the U.S, authorized by George Washington and dedicated by General Lafayette) and museum; tennis courts, a baseball diamond, a grandstand, several acres of fields, and a magnificent stretch of accessible coastline. Fort Williams Park is maintained by the town, which has repeatedly opted out of parking fees, to ensure the park is maintained for use free of charge to the public. Cape Elizabeth Lifesaving Station and Coast Guard Station The U.S. Lifesaving Station at Cape Elizabeth was built in 1887, on Dyers Cove, Cape Elizabeth, near the Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse; on land obtained by the U.S. Government in 1881. It received its equipment and was put into operation in 1888. The station built near the entrance to Portland Harbor, was authorized by an act of May 4, 1882. The station was repaired and improved in 1889. On January 28, 1915, the U.S. Lifesaving Service and its functions were consolidated with the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service to form the U.S. Coast Guard. The U.S. Lifesaving Station at Cape Elizabeth became the U.S. Coast Guard Station Cape Elizabeth. The Public Works Authority funded a project in 1933 to rebuild the station buildings. The U.S. Coast Guard Station at Cape Elizabeth was closed and was turned over to the GSA in 1964. The main building is currently used by the U.S. Coast Guard as housing. Navy Direction Finding Station, Cape Elizabeth, ME at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Cape Elizabeth, ME =================================================================================== Cape Hatteras, Hatteras Island, Outer Banks, North Carolina Cape Hatteras is a cape on the coast of North Carolina. It is the point that protrudes the furthest to the southeast along the northeast-to-southwest line of the Atlantic coast of North America, making it a key point for navigation along the eastern seaboard. The cape is actually a bend in Hatteras Island, one of the long thin barrier islands that make up the Outer Banks. Hatteras Island lies twenty five miles off the coast of North Carolina with miles of sand dunes, salt marshes, freshwater swales and a beautiful maritime forest. The Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci set foot on the beach here in the 16th century. Four hundred years later, the wreckage of ships destroyed by German U-boats washed up on the same beaches. Blackbeard the Pirate once terrorized shipping from his base at Ocracoke. Today, the only terrifying aspect of a trip to Hatteras island is a wait at the ferry docks. Hatteras Island is part of North Carolina's Outer Banks and includes the villages of Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco, and Hatteras. It contains the largest part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge also makes up a large chunk of Hatteras Island. The refuge’s mission is primarily that of protecting wildlife, but it is also open to visitors to enjoy environmentally friendly recreation like hiking, birding, paddling and enjoying the beach. Hatteras Island is almost entirely in Dare County, North Carolina, but there is a very small sliver of about 45 acres, which extends southwest into Hyde County. The island is one of the longest in the contiguous United States, measuring 42 miles along a straight line from end to end, or roughly 50 miles along the curve of the land. About 75 percent of Hatteras Island is undeveloped, and much of that land is accessible to the public for activities like fishing, water sports and observing nature. Naked sand dunes, wide beaches, thick maritime forest and vast marshlands are left in their natural state. Hatteras Island is known for world-class sport fishing, surfing, windsurfing and kiteboarding, and is known as "The blue marlin capital of the world." The Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station in Rodanthe is the most complete existing example of the life-saving stations that were built along the coast in the late 19th century. The 1874 station was one of the original life-saving stations built along the Outer Banks, and it operated until 1954. The station has been restored, and it is a museum and a historic site. The black-and-white spiral-striped Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is one of the most famous lighthouses in the nation. Congress authorized the first Cape Hatteras Light Station in 1794, and construction began in 1799. Completed in 1802, the tower was first lit in 1803. Standing ninety feet tall topped by a ten-foot high lantern enclosure, the tower stood atop a stone foundation buried in the sand thirteen feet deep. It was replaced by the current Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in 1870, which at 193 feet (207 1/2 feet from the bottom of the foundation footer to the top of the spire, on the roof); and is recognized by the National Park Service as the tallest lighthouse in the U.S. The lighthouse is one of several on the North Carolina coast that are still operational. The lighthouse construction consisted of approximately 1,250,000 bricks, and there are 268 steps to reach the light at the top. A wireless U.S. Navy Radio Station was established at the Cape Hatteras Light Station in 1905. An automated electrical system was installed in the lighthouse in 1934 to rotate the lens and illuminate it. By 1936, erosion had encroached on the tower so that during storms, water surrounded the station. The tower was abandoned and a new light established in an iron skeletal tower built about one mile to the northwest. The National Park Service acquired the abandoned light tower in 1936 and found that vandals had badly damaged the lens. During World War II and postwar periods, the Coast Guard continued to develop new lighthouse technologies. but the effectiveness of radio technology and an increased dependence on it, decreased the role of lighthouse stations. SHORAN (short-range navigation aids) or LORAN (long-range navigation aids) were installed at stations and stationary towers; a LORAN station was established at Cape Hatteras Light Station in 1949. In 1953, a 72-mile stretch of the Outer Banks from Nags Head to Ocracoke Island was set aside as the nation's first National Seashore. Today, most of Hatteras Island remains protected by that designation and is a one of the country's most visited National Parks. The Cape Hatteras National Seashore encompasses some of the most historic and environmentally fragile real estate in the world. The narrow barrier islands of Cape Hatteras National Seashore are in a constant state of change. Tides, waves and currents provide daily, sometimes subtle changes, while storms can provoke more sudden changes to the islands. The people who lived and worked on these narrow barrier islands experienced the changes wrought by storm and tide, and often made a living in close relationship with the sea. Life abounds on the seashore. From the sea turtles nesting on sandy beaches, to the deer seeking shelter in the maritime woods, the seashore provides a home and habitat for creatures large and small, on land and in the water: a rich variety of plant and animal life. Wind is an everyday occurrence on the Outer Banks, and can range from gentle southwest breezes to strong northeast storm winds. Local weather changes rapidly and can be very unpredictable. Summer days are usually warm and humid, and are often broken by fast-moving but severe thunderstorms. Naval Facility (NAVFAC) Cape Hatteras was commissioned on January 11, 1956. It was located near Buxton, North Carolina, adjacent to the Cape Hatteras lighthouse. NAVFAC Cape Hatteras operated for over twenty six years and was decommissioned on June 30, 1982. Cape Hatteras Island is a sandy spit, separated from the mainland by Pamlico Sound, known for its frequent and severe storms. The Diamond Shoals surrounding the island claimed more than 600 ships over the years, resulting in Hatteras being called the "graveyard of the Atlantic". In 1999, as the receding shoreline had come dangerously close to Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the lighthouse was lifted and moved inland over a distance of 2900 feet. Its distance from the seashore is now 1500 feet, about the same as when it was originally built. Most of the 1400 feet of beach lost since the relocation of the lighthouse was due to Hurricane Isabel in 2003. Cape Hatteras is also infamous for being frequently struck by hurricanes that move up the East Coast of the United States. The strike of Hurricane Isabel in 2003 was particularly devastating for the area. Isabel devastated the entire Outer Banks and also split the two small towns of Frisco and Hatteras in half. North Carolina Highay 12, which provides a direct route from Nags Head to Hatteras Island, was broken in half by the hurricane. Hurricane Isabel nearly demolished the small villages of Cape Hatteras. Navy Direction Finding (Radio Compass) Station, Jul 1933 May 1942 Cape Hatteras, NC at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Cape Hatteras, NC =================================================================================== Cape Henlopen, Fort Miles, Lewes, Delaware Cape Henlopen is the southern cape of the Delaware Bay along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. It lies in the state of Delaware, near the town of Lewes. Off the coast on the bay side are two lighthouses, called the National Harbor of Refuge Light and the Delaware Breakwater East End Light. Originally spelled Cape Hinlopen, Cape Henlopen is named after Thijmen Jacobsz Hinlopen, who was a prominent Dutch trader in corn from the Baltic, carrying on trade to Genoa and Portugal. He also was an insurer and a director of the Northern Company, the successor company of the New Netherland Company. Cape Hinlopen was New Netherland's most southern border on the 37th parallel. Thijmen Jacobsz Hinlopen became Cornelis Jacobsz May's business partner. They operated two ships, the Blijde Boodschap (in english "Joyful Message") and the Bever, which focused on exploration and trade with the Indians in the Zuidt River (Delaware River) in 1620. Established in 1682, William Penn made the beaches of Cape Henlopen one of the first public lands, with the declaration that Cape Henlopen would be for "the usage of the citizens of Lewes and Sussex County." Lewes is located in coastal Sussex County, Delaware. Often called Lewistown in olden days, Lewes has a frontage on the Delaware Bay, and an Atlantic oceanfront at Cape Henlopen. The history of the community commenced in 1631 with the ill-fated and short lived commercial settlement of Swanendael by the Dutch. In 1682, William Penn chose Lewes as the name for the seat of the county that he simultaneously dubbed Sussex. In 1791, the county seat of Sussex was transferred to Georgetown, a new community established expressly for the purpose. An excellent source the the early history of Lewes is located at: . The Delaware Breakwater East End Lighthouse was completed in 1855, was automated in 1950, and was purchased in 1997 by the State of Delaware, and placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The National Harbor of Refuge lighthouse, located at the outer breakwater off Cape Henlopen, was built in 1926 and automated in 1973. Currently maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard, the lighthouse is visible from the Cape May-Lewes Ferry. The earliest U.S. Navy presence in the Lewes area was during World War I. The Delaware Breakwater Quarantine Station, which was established in 1884, was located at Cape Henlopen, on the southeastern corner of the Delaware Bay. From 1917-1918, the U.S. Navy used the station as a Navy Patrol Base. A U.S. Naval Radio Station, with a co-located Navy Direction Finding Station, was established at Cape Henlopen, from 1917 to 1918. After WWI, the Navy abandoned the base. The facility was kept in a state of readiness until it was officially abandoned in 1926. The last of the station's buildings were removed in 1931. For a history of the Delaware Breakwater Quarantine Station, see the article at the following link: . The Navy presence at Fort Miles dates back to 1941 when the Navy established a Harbor Entrance Control Post, during World War II. On August 8, 1941, the concealed fortification on Cape Henlopen that had been under construction for several months received its name. The Harbor Entrance Control Post for Bay and River Delaware was christened Fort Miles, in honor of the late Lieutenant General Nelson Appleton Miles (1839-1925) who was Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Army from 1895 until his retirement in 1903. Fort Miles, just outside the city of Lewes, DE; covered more than one thousand acres of dune land. Army engineers began surveying the sandy Cape Henlopen. Soon tents for soldiers began to spring up, as buildings for housing the men were hastily constructed. The encampment was also known as Camp Henlopen. Official government papers referred to the fort that was built beneath the dunes as the Cape Henlopen Military Reservation. Fort Miles continued as a U.S. Army post after WWII, was U.S. Army recreation center from 1945, and was quite active as a training post during the Korean War in 1950. It was then used to support anti-aircraft gun firing units and for reserve component training. In 1958, the Army decided to close Fort Miles. The Army retained 190 acres of land, which comprised the Fort Miles U.S. Army Recreation Center, which remained active until 1962. The Army officially transferred 593 acres to the Department of the Navy for a Naval Oceanographic Research Station on February 13, 1961. In 1961, the Navy took control of the batteries and bunkers, for use as a Naval Radio Station, active from 1962 to 1976. The Naval Oceanographic Research Station was the covername for the Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) station, commissioned as NAVFAC Lewes. Naval Facility (NAVFAC) Lewes was commissioned on May 1, 1962. NAVFAC Lewes was decommissioned on September 30, 1981, after 26 years of service. See the NAVFAC Stations History for more details on NAVFAC Lewes. In 1964, The U.S. Department of Defense declared 543 acres at Cape Henlopen as surplus property and the State of Delaware established Cape Henlopen State Park. Cape Henlopen State Park is a 5,193 acre Delaware state park on Cape Henlopen in Sussex County. Cape Henlopen State Park has a 24-hour and year-round fishing pier as well as campgrounds. The remainder of the park is only open from sunrise to sunset, and includes a bathhouse on the Atlantic Ocean, an area for surf-fishing, a disc golf course, and bicycle and walking paths. The beach at Herring Point is a popular surfing spot. On April 5, 2005, the State of Delaware acknowledged the pivotal role that Lewes played in defending Delaware River and the Bay from the British Navy. One hundred ninety years ago, the sleepy coastal town of Lewes was bombarded by a squadron of the Royal Navy, for refusing the British request for provisions. The ceremony was held at the War of 1812 Park, Front Street in Lewes. Two markers were dedicated, one at the War of 1812 Park, site of the main fort at Lewes during the conflict, and one at the Cannonball House, so named because it suffered damage during the bombardment. A cannonball still remains in the house's foundation as a memorial. Today, Cape Henlopen State Park today is spread over the sands and along the seashore of the former Fort Miles. Today, tents shelter campers, not soldiers. The pier that accommodated the laying of mines on the harbor floor is used by local fishermen. Of the observation towers dotting the coastline, enduring World War II relics, one has been fashioned into a visitor attraction. The tower, rising 70 feet skyward, allows those who climb the 115 steps of the spiral metal staircase, to view the peaceful domain that was formerly known as the Cape Henlopen Navy Patrol Base (1917-1918), a U.S. Navy Harbor Entrance Control Post (1941), Camp Henlopen (1941), Fort Miles (1941-1962); and the former U.S. Naval Facility Lewes (1962-1981). Navy Direction Finding Station, Cape Henlopen, DE 1917 1918 at the U.S. Naval Radio Station, Navy Patrol Base, Cape Henlopen, DE Station abandoned in 1926. =================================================================================== Cape Henry, Virginia Beach, Virginia Cape Henry is a cape on the Atlantic shore of Virginia. Cape Henry is the southern boundary of the entrance to Chesapeake Bay, and is one of the Virginia Capes (along with Cape Charles). The Cape Henry Lighthouse has long been important for the large amount of ocean-going shipping traffic for the harbors, its rivers, and shipping headed to ports on the Chesapeake Bay. More recently, because of the proximity of the Naval Yards at Norfolk and Newport News, the Virginia Capes (VACAPES) area has often been used for the initial trials of new U.S. Navy ships. The community of Cape Henry was established in 1902, and it grew to about 300 residents. An electric train connected the town with Norfolk via what is now the Shore Drive corridor. Later the railway would connect instead to the Oceanfront area, which was in turn connected roughly via the Virginia Beach Blvd corridor. After Fort Story expanded in 1941, the civilian community faded away. And by 1954, the railroad would disappear. Old Cape Henry Lighthouse The Old Cape Henry Lighthouse was located at the entrance to Chesapeake Bay, at Fort Cape Henry (now Fort Story), in Virginia Beach, in Princess Anne County. Lighthouse construction began in 1791, and it was completed and first lit on October 1, 1792. A provision for building a lighthouse at Cape Henry, was included in the first appropriation made for lighthouses by Congress on March 26, 1790. The amount authorized was $24,076.66. Construction of the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse was the first federal work project of the new U.S. Government, and the first lighthouse authorized by the First U.S. Congress. The project had already been undertaken by the colony of Virginia, and the State of Virginia ceded the parcel of land intended for the lighthouse, to the Federal government in November, 1789. Both the Virginia and Maryland State Governments provided funds for the Aquia stone, to be used in constructing the foundation of the lighthouse. Old Cape Henry is the third oldest lighthouse still standing in the U.S., and is the oldest lighthouse on the Chesapeake Bay. Today, the old Cape Henry Lighthouse silently guards the entry way into the Chesapeake Bay. Standing near the spot where in 1607, Captain Newport raised a cross to offer thanks for the colonist's safe crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. The lighthouse was constructed, under contracted amount, for $15,200. The sandstone tower is 90 feet tall, 33 feet in diameter and the exterior walls are 11 feet thick. The foundation is comprised of Aquia stone, which was placed 20 feet below sea level. The tower is circular for the first four feet and then it is an octagonal pyramid for 92 feet, up to the lantern. The upper part of the lighthouse is Rappahannock freestone. The lantern is an additional 13 feet tall. A fogbell was installed in 1855. There are eight four-foot by six-foot sash windows on each face. The light first consisted of oil lamps burning, in turn, fish oil, sperm oil, colza oil, lard oil, and finally kerosene; after the discovery of petroleum in Pennsylvania, in 1859. The design of the station also included the construction of a two story house, as a keeper's residence and to be used for the safe storage of the oil, used for the light. During most of the early 1800s, the light was outfitted with 18 Argand style lamps, each with a 12 inch reflector. The original first order Fresnel lens was installed in 1857. During the Civil War, the lens was destroyed by Confederate raiders, so that the lighthouse could not be use by Union troops. To compensate for the loss of the navigation aid, a lightship was anchored nearby, and stood a stationary watch, until the lens was replaced. In 1863, Union troops repaired the light, and the lens was replaced. Thereafter, until the end of the Civil War, a military guard detailed from Fortress Monroe, protected the lighthouse. At the end of the Civil War, all of the lightships, from Cape Henry southward, had either been removed, sunk or destroyed by Confederate forces. During a routine inspection in 1872, questions arose concerning the stability and safety of the lighthouse. Large cracks in the original masonry had developed in six of the eight faces. The Lighthouse Board report recommended the lighthouse be closed. When the new Cape Henry lighthouse was completed in 1881, the old lighthouse was decommissioned and was last lit on December 15, 1881. The old tower remained standing and became one of the antiquities of the State of Virginia, serving as a monument commemorating the landing of John Smith. On April 29, 1896, members of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA) travelled from Richmond, to place a tablet on the tower, marking the first landing of the English colonists on Virginia's shores. It was used by the U.S. Army as an observation post in 1928. On June 18, 1930, the old tower and a 1.77 acre parcel of land were deeded by Congress to the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, who currently own and manage the lighthouse, which is open to the public. New Cape Henry Lighthouse The New Cape Henry Lighthouse is located at the Chesapeake Bay entrance, at Fort Story, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. In 1872, the Lighthouse Board recommended building a new tower, stating that the old tower was in an unsafe condition, and deemed dangerously unstable, due to large cracks in its faces, and that there was no way of repairing it satisfactorily. "It is in danger of being thrown down by some heavy gale." On June 10, 1878, Congress appropriated $75,000.00 for the construction of a new lighthouse at Cape Henry and to erect said new lighthouse 350 feet southeast of the old lighthouse. Lighthouse construction began in 1879. The total cost was $150,000.00, after two more appropriations of $25,000.00 each, one in 1880 and one in 1881. The new tower was completed and the light was first lit on December 15, 1881. The octagonal tower had a day marking of two rows of alternating vertical black and white stripes. The tower is 164 feet tall, 170 feet tall with the lantern, and 180 feet above mean high water. The inner and outer walls were constructed of cast iron plate, with a brick lining and a masonry foundation. The lightstation had quarters for a keeper, a first assistant keeper, and a second assistant keeper. A first order Fresnel lens was installed in the early 1880s, and was originally lit by oil lamps and reflectors. The lamp had five concentric wicks. A steam siren fog signal was also installed. An incandescent oil vapor lamp, burning kerosene vapor, replaced the wick lamp in 1912. This increased the intrinsic brilliancy, but decreased the area lit. The candlepower, however, was increased from 6,000 to 22,000. Currently, the Fresnel lens is lit by a 1000 watt 80,000 candlepower bulb. Electricity was extended to the lighthouse in 1923. The lighthouse was automated in 1984, and the Coast Guard keepers were no longer required to live on premises. The Coast Guard maintained the station in an active status, and teams headquartered at the Cape Henry Station maintain all Chesapeake Bay lighthouses, and other active aids to navigation. The candlepower was later increased to 80,000 for the white light, with a 16,000 candlepower red sector added, covering the shoals outside the cape and the middle ground inside the bay. The original steam siren fog horn signal was replaced with a diaphone fog signal. Light visibility is only 15-19 miles, due to the bright city lights that overpower it. During World War I, a radio beacon was installed and used by the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Navy. The radio beacon is still in use, as an aid to navigation. During World War II, the station also served as a U.S. Army Battery Commander's Station, with two 16 inch howitzers located on the site. From August, 1935 until August, 1942, an active U.S. Navy Direction Finding Station operated from a U.S. Naval Radio Station at Cape Henry. U.S Navy and U.S. Coast Guard Radiomen jointly mannned the DF station 24/7 in shifts, providing lines-of-bearing on enemy forces and shipping in the Atlantic; the Coast Guard being a part of the Navy in times of war. The DF Station closed midway through WWII, and the transmitters and receivers were relocated to Naval Station Norfolk for the duration of the war. After being damaged by Hurricane Barbara in 1953, the lighthouse's lantern was reconstructed of bronze and copper. The lighthouse is currently maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard, as an Active Aid to Navigation. It is not open to the public, but can be seen from the street, and from the Old Cape Henry lighthouse. The site is a ground site for the Global Positioning System. Further down the coast, on the U.S. Coast Guard station, is the Harbor Pilot Control Tower, a modern electronic station, providing navigational traffic for the Virginia Pilots Association and the Association of Maryland Pilots. The lighthouse was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places, on December 2, 2002. Also in 2002, the American Society of Civil Engineers designated the lighthouse a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. The lighthouses are located within the city of Virginia Beach, and are within the boundaries of Fort Story, a U.S. Army base near the north end of Virginia Beach. The Cape Henry Memorial is adjacent to the lighthouses. Fort Story The Fort Story Military Reservation is a U.S. Army facility located at the entrance of the Chesapeake Bay, at Cape Henry, in the independent city of Virginia Beach. The base is a sub-installation of the U.S. Army Transportation Center and is subordinate to Fort Eustis, in Newport News. Fort Story is primarly a training command, for both Army amphibious operations and the Joint Logistics-Over-the-Shore (LOTS) system. The base includes 1,451 acres of sandy trails, cypress swamps, grassy dunes and soft and hard sand beaches. The beaches are wide, gently sloped and washed by the waters of the Chesapeake Bay on one side, and get pounded by the surf of the Atlantic Ocean on the other side. Named for Major General John Patton Story in 1916, Fort Story has three historical sites. The Cape Henry Memorial Cross marks the location where the Jamestown Settlers first landed in 1607. At the Battle of the Virginia Capes Monument, there is a statue of French Admiral Francois Joseph Paul Comte de Grasse, which commemorates the famous sea battle on September 5, 1781, which prevented the British from reaching Yorktown during the American Revolutionary War. The third historical site is the Cape Henry Lighthouse Station. In the years prior to World War I, the Army began purchasing land at Cape Henry. There was a need for protection against potentially hostile shipping entering the Chesapeake Bay. In earlier times, the distance between Cape Henry and Cape Charles was too great for inland area forts, like Norfolk, Hampton, Washington, and Baltimore; to effectivly protect the bay. Fort Story became a military installation in 1914, when the Virginia General Assembly ceded land to the U.S. Government, to erect fortifications and for other military purposes. Originally known as Cape Henry Military Reservation, it was officially renamed Fort Story on July 24, 1916. During the World Wars, Fort Story was subordinate to Fort Monroe in Hampton, VA. On June 9, 1925, Fort Story was designated a Harbor Defense Command. In 1941, during World War II, the Harbor Defense Command headquarters was moved from Fort Monroe to Fort Story. In addition to the U.S. Army 2nd Coastal Artillery, the National Guard's 246th Coastal Artillery unit also served at Fort Story. Addttional land was aquired in 1943, and the entire cape became part of the Army reservation. Some of the WWII batteries at Fort Story have been claimed by the sea, and erosion continues to be a problem to this day. After World War II, Fort Story's mission as a coastal defender was no longer required, and the gun batteries were all decommissioned by 1949. Between 1958 and 1974, there was a NIKE missile defense station at Fort Story. Fort Story was declared a permanent installation on December 5, 1961. On July 1,1962, it was redesignated as a Class I sub-installation of Fort Eustis. The Army mission at Cape Henry now includes using the beach to simulate amphibious assaults, testing amphibious vehicles, and supports assault craft training and operations. The U.S. Marines and the U.S. Navy maintain small tenant commands on Fort Story. The U.S. Coast Guard maintains a presence at the Cape Henry Lighthouse. Navy Direction Finding Station, Cape Henry, Aug 1935 Aug 1942 Virginia Beach, VA at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Cape Henry, Virginia Beach, VA =================================================================================== Cape Hinchinbrook, Alaska The Cape Hinchinbrook Lighthouse, one of the most remote of all U.S. lighthouses, is adjacent to Prince William Sound, on the south coast of Alaska; near the town of Cordova, in Cordova and Valdez counties. The Cape Hinchinbrook Lighthouse was first established in 1910, to mark the entrance to Prince William Sound. Congress authorized the construction of a lighthouse at this point in 1906, appropriating $125,000 for its construction. However, the full amount was not authorized in one lump sum. The money was appropriated over a number of years with $25,000 in 1906, $50,000 in 1907 and the rest in 1908. As a result construction did not begin until 1909. In the winter of 1909, a temporary fixed white light was established on the second story of the building under construction. As a result a keeper and his wife remained on site to tend the light. Total cost was $100,323, less than had been estimated. Due to the earthquakes in 1927 and 1928, which caused instability in the cliff around the lighthouse, it was felt a new light should be built on solid rock. In 1931 a six- mile trail was built by the U.S. Forest Service to link the station and English Bay at Port Etches. The new 67 foot octagonal tower was completed in 1934. The lighthouse was automated in 1974 and a solar-powered Vega lens was installed. The original third order Fresnel lens is on display at the Valdez Heritage Center in Valdez, Alaska. Other Structures include a radiobeacon. The lighthouse is currently a U.S. Coast Guard active aid to navigation. In 1939, the U.S. Navy maintained Direction Finder Stations at Soapstone Point (Cross Sound) and at Cape Hinchinbrook (Prince William Sound). Navy Direction Finding Station, Cape Hinchinbrook, AK 01 Sep 1923 at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Cape Hinchinbrook, AK =================================================================================== Cape Lookout, Harckers Island, South Core Banks, North Carolina Cape Lookout is located in Carteret County, NC. Drum Inlet is nineteen-and-a-half miles north of Cape Lookout. Barden Inlet is right beside the lighthouse. Beaufort Inlet and Morehead City Port are about ten miles from the lighthouse. Behind the barrier islands of Cape Lookout in Pamlico Sound are several anchorages. In the early 1700's, Blackbeard the notorious pirate, often dropped anchor here to wait for prey. The British used it as an anchorage during the Revolutionary War, the U.S. Navy anchored ships here in both World Wars, and German U-boats used it to avoid detection and to watch for enemy ships to stalk during WWII. On the approach to the lighthouse, you may be privileged to see the wild ponies grazing on nearby Shackleford Banks, the seashore's southern-most barrier island. Here a herd of over 100 ponies roam free on this ten-mile sliver of land where they feed on the coarse marsh grass that thrives along the sound. Congress authorized a light station for Cape Lookout in 1804. The deed recorded in February 1805, transferred four acres to the U.S. Government for the Cape Lookout Light Station. The lighthouse was finished before the outbreak of America's second war in 1812. It cost $20,678 to build, including dependent buildings. The U.S. Lighthouse Service established Cape Lookout Lightstation to mark Cape Lookout Shoals and as part of the North Carolina coastal system of lighthouses. Each coastal light station is roughly forty miles from the next. Ships would get out of sight of the last light just as the next light came into view. North Carolina's lighthouses "hand-off," pass ships on from one lighthouse to the next, along the treacherous passage of the Graveyard of the Atlantic. Construction on the second lighthouse tower began in 1857, and It was operational on November 1, 1859. On January 28, 1915, Congress combined the Revenue Cutter Service and the Life Saving Service to form the Coast Guard. Congress organized the Coast Guard as a branch of the military forces. In peacetime, the Coast Guard is part of the Treasury Department. It is part of the Navy during war. On July 1, 1939, the U.S. Lighthouse Service was incorporated into the U.S Coast Guard, under the jurisdiction of the U.S.Treasury Department. The Coast Guard is one of the oldest agencies of the U.S. Government owing part of its origins to the Lighthouse Service from 1789. After an underwater electric cable was run from Harckers Island to South Core Banks for the lighthouse, the Coast Guard automated the Cape Lookout Lighthouse in 1950. Coast Guard Station Cape Lookout, on Harckers Island, 1 3/8 miles southwest-by-west of Cape Lookout Light, was established by an Act of Congress on June 18, 1878. The land was conveyed to the U.S. Life Saving Service in 1886. The station itself was built as a Life Saving Station in 1887, and it was completed on August 31, 1887. Land for a boathouse was acquired by deeds dated June 16 and July 1, 1891. The Coast Guard Station was rebuilt on its original site in 1916, despite permission to move to the nearby Army Engineer Reservation. On March 1, 1945, the War Department transferred its lease of 411 acres of land, buildings, and the Army dock to the Navy Department for Coast Guard use. The Coast Guard trimmed the area to 95 acres in a subsequent lease change on August 18, 1945 and let the lease expire entirely on June 30, 1949. In 1950, the radiobeacon located at the Cape Loookout Light Station was moved to the Lifeboat Station. The station was conveyed to the State of North Carolina in 1957, and is still in operation. On June 3, 1965, Congress authorized the establishment of Cape Lookout National Seashore, authorizing purchase the following year, in 1966. Cape Lookout National Seashore opened as part of the Bicentennial celebration on July 4, 1976. The Cape Lookout National Seashore is made up of three islands, North Core Banks, South Core Banks and Shackleford Banks. Further modernization at the Cape Lookout Lighthouse reduced the maintenance requirements of the station. No longer requiring constant attention, the Coast Guard deactivated the Cape Lookout Lifesaving Staion in 1982. The Coast Guard then trans- ferred the Coast Guard buildings and property to the Cape Lookout National Seashore. Today, a computerized system monitors the operation of the lighthouse. The Lighthouse was transferred from the U.S. Coast Guard to the National Parks Service on June 14, 2003. Navy Direction Finding Station, Cape Lookout, NC Aug 1935 Dec 1942 at U.S. Naval Radio Station =================================================================================== Cape May, New Jersey Cape May is a cape and peninsula which is the southernmost point of the state of New Jersey. It runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. Many people go to Cape May for tourism, shopping, and for the beach. The cape is named for Cornelius Jacobsen Mey, a Dutch explorer and Captain, who was working for the Dutch East India Company. The town's history dates back to its founding in 1620 by Captain Mey. Cape May is the oldest seaside resort in America, with historical roots dating back to the 1700s. The entire city was designated as a National Historic Landmark on May 11, 1976, and many of the buildings throughout the town are original Victorian structures, that have been maintained in pristine condition. Cape May, is also a city located at the southern tip of the Cape May peninsula, in Cape May County, New Jersey. What is now Cape May was originally formed as the borough of Cape Island by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 8, 1848. It was reincorporated as Cape Island city on March 10, 1851, and finally became Cape May city as of March 9, 1869. In 1859, the Cape May Lighthouse was constructed. Today, the lighthouse is a prominent land mark and a popular tourist attraction. Sewell Point has a long history of Naval presence. During the American Revolution and throughout the nineteenth century, Cape May Sound was used as a harbor of refuge. In 1917, the Navy established a "section base" in Cape May, to provide training, vessel support and communication facilities for coastal defense. Initially, the Navy converted an abandoned amusement center, built along the oceanfront, for military use. The old skating rink became the mess hall and sleeping quarters, the stage was made into a galley, the "human roulette wheel" and the "barrel of fun" became a brig. A U.S. Navy seaplane and LTA (lighter-than-air, airship, or blimp) patrol base was constructed on the eastern-most part of Cape May. The base was established on October 6, 1917 and was commissioned as a Naval Air Station on December 4, 1917. During the First World War, Cape May operated 12 seaplanes and 1 dirigible. When the old wooden structure burned down in 1918, the Navy built standard military facilities along the harbor front. Some of these buildings still stand today. Modern training facilities have replaced most of the original Naval Base buildings, During World War I, the base was adapted to accommodate dirigibles. The largest hanger in the world, 700 feet long and over 100 feet tall, was built to accommodate an airship under construction in Britain. Unfortunately, the ZR-2 crashed into the English Channel on its trial run test flight. Interest diminished and the structure was never used for dirigibles. After World War I, NAS Cape May was closed in 1922. In 1924, the U.S. Coast Guard occupied the base and established air facilities for planes used in support of U.S. Customs Service efforts. During the Prohibition era, several U.S. Coast Guard cutters were assigned to Cape May to foil rum-runners operating off the New Jersey coast. After Prohibition, the Coast Guard all but abandoned Cape May, leaving a small air/sea rescue contingent. For a short period of time (1929-1934), part of the base was used as a civilian municipal airport. With the advent of World War II, the U.S. Navy returned to Cape May, to train aircraft carrier pilots. The over the water approach simulated carrier landings at sea. More acreage was filled in and a larger airstrip was constructed. Cape May was recommissioned as a Naval Air Staion by the U.S. Navy in 1940. During the Second World War an enemy aircraft lookout tower and an antisubmarine surveillance station were built, and they are still standing today. The Coast Guard also increased its Cape May forces for coastal patrol, anti-submarine warfare, air/sea rescue and buoy service. Early in the war, blimps from Lakehurst's ZP-12 used Cape May to patrol the approaches to the Delaware Bay. Several fixed-wing Navy scouting squadrons were also based at Cape May. At its height during WW2, the Cape May airfield consisted of a total of 5 paved runways (the largest was 3,825 feet long), 2 blimp mooring circles, parking aprons, hangars, and seaplane ramps. The peak complement of the station, in 1944, was 1,339 personnel. In 1946, the Navy relinquished the base to the Coast Guard. Post 1946, the airfield was designated as Coast Guard Air Station (CGAS) Cape May. In 1948, all entry level training on the east coast was moved to the U.S. Coast Guard Recruit Receiving Station in Cape May. The Coast Guard consolidated all recruit training functions in Cape May in 1982. The U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Cape May, NJ is the nation's only Coast Guard Recruit Training Center. Currently over 350 military and civilian personnel and their dependents are attached to USCG Training Center Cape May. Naval Facility (NAVFAC) Cape May, New Jersey, was commissioned on August 15, 1955; and was destroyed during the Ash Wednesday Storm of March, 1962. The Navy abandoned the Cape May Point installation in May, 1962. See the NAVFAC Stations History for more details on NAVFAC Cape May. Between 1994 and 1998, one of the abandoned World War II vintage runways was converted into a new helicopter-only runway. This helicopter runway was used to operate HH-65 Dolphin helicopters at the Coast Guard Air Station. Budget considerations, as well as the advanced age of the Cape May facilities, prompted the Coast Guard to consolidate the helicopter operations of Cape May and Brooklyn, NY at a new location at the Atlantic City International Airport. The new Atlantic City facility opened in 1998, leaving Cape May once again without any based aircraft. As of 1998, the base at Cape May was still listed in the Airport Facility Directory as an active airfield. As of 2007, the Coast Guard heliport at Cape May was no longer listed among active airfields in the FAA's Airport Facility Directory, nor depicted on aeronautical charts. Navy Direction Finding Station, Cape May, NJ 14 May 1923 at U.S. Naval Radio Station =================================================================================== Castroville, California Castroville, an eccentric little hamlet, located on a little niche of the Monterey Bay, is a small town just north of Monterey. Castroville, is an unincorporated town with a population of 5,272 (1990 census). Located in Monterey county, western California, Castrovile is 2 miles east of Monterey Bay, and 8 miles northwest of Salinas. Castroville is righteously acclaimed as the "Artichoke Center of the World". Artichokes surround Castroville. Swiss Italians, who also grew the first wine vineyards in Salinas Valley, began the California artichoke industry here. It is now a $50 million crop for Pajaro Valley, where Castroville and Moss Landing host nearly all the artichoke fields. Andrew Molera, for whom the state park near Point Sur is named, planted the first artichokes in these parts in the '20s. Now more than 3/4ths of the world's crop is grown here. And they are grown and harvested by hand. No machines are involved. The Castroville families, descendants of the pioneer artichoke growers, don't share their secrets. And they are not grown from seeds. All artichokes, all on the same plant, even, grow to different sizes. The skilled pickers in the Castroville fields know when the artichoke is mature. After the harvest, the plant is trimmed to the nub, and it regenerates with a new crop. Castroville Station The Station is located on the central California coast, in Monterey County, 11 miles northeast of the city of Monterey and 3.5 miles southwest of the town of Castroville. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the northeast by the Salinas River. On September 15, 1942, the U.S Navy acquired 428 acres of land from the Martin Estate Company. Four activities were established on the site, including: a Naval Amphibious Training Base, a Navy Radio Direction Finder Station, a Naval Radio Station, and the Watsonville Bombing Target Number 8. The Naval Radio Station was established in 1943, and the Navy Direction Finding Station was established in March, 1943. The Watsonville Bombing Target Number 8 was established on April 29, 1944 as a subordinate activity of Naval Auxiliary Air Station, Watsonville, California. The Direction Finding Station closed in July, 1945. After World War II, the station was transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard. In 1965, the Coast Guard transferred the total acreage to the General Services Administration (GSA). GSA transferred the total acreage to the Department of Interior, Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife on June 27, 1973. The site became the Salinas National Wildlife Refuge, and is now managed by the California Department of Fish and Game, under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Navy Direction Finding Station, Farallon Islands, CA 1923 Jun 1942 Moved to South San Francisco Navy Direction Finding Station, South San Francisco, CA Jun 1942 Mar 1943 At Naval Radio Station (NAVRADSTA) South San Francisco, CA Located at Mills Field, South San Francisco. Moved to Castroville, CA Navy Direction Finding Station, Castroville, CA Mar 1943 Jul 1945 At Naval Radio Station (NAVRADSTA) Castroville, CA Transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard =================================================================================== Catalina Island, Santa Catalina Island, Channel Islands, California Santa Catalina Island, often called Catalina Island, or just Catalina, is a rocky island off the coast of southern California, and is the largest of the four Catalina Islands located closest to the coast. The island is twenty-one miles long and from one-half to eight miles wide, with rugged mountains rising to 2,100 feet. The island is located about 22 miles south-southwest of San Pedro, Los Angeles, and is twenty six miles from Los Angeles harbor. The highest point on the island is Mt. Orizaba. Part of the Channel Islands of California archipelago, Catalina falls under the jurisdiction of Los Angeles County. Most of the island is owned by the Catalina Island Conservancy. Santa Catalina Island is the only one of the eight Channel islands with a significant permanent civilian settlement, the resort city of Avalon, California, and the unincorporated town of Two Harbors. The Channel Islands of California, also called the Santa Barbara Islands, are a chain of eight islands located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California along the Santa Barbara Channel. The Channel Island National Park occupies five of the eight islands in the chain, as well as much of its offshore waters, including Anacapa Island, Santa Cruz Island, Santa Rosa Island, San Miguel Island, and Santa Barbara Island. The other Channel Islands are San Clemente Island, San Nicolas Island and Santa Catalina Island. San Clemente Island and San Nicolas Island are wholly owned U.S. Navy operated islands. San Clemente Island or U.S. Navy Station San Clemente has been owned and operated by Naval commands since 1934. Naval Air Station, North Island is responsible for its administration and operates Naval Auxiliary Landing Facility (NALF) San Clemente Island. San Miguel Island is wholly owned by the U.S. Navy, but is now managed by the National Park Service. The island was originally occupied by the Tongva people, who also lived on the mainland in a rancheria named Tibahangna (in what is now part of the city of Long Beach. Along with other Tongva villages, Tibahangna disappeared in the mid-1800s. The Tongva are a Native American people who inhabited the area in and around Los Angeles, California, before the arrival of Europeans. Tongva means "people of the earth" in the Tongva language, a language in the Uto-Aztecan family. Along with the Chumash, their neighbors to the north, the Tongva are among the few New World peoples who regularly navigated the ocean. They built seaworthy canoes, called titi'at, using planks that were sewn together, edge to edge, and then caulked and coated with either pine pitch, or, more commonly, the tar that was available either from the La Brea Tar Pits, or as asphaltum that had washed up on shore from offshore oil seeps. These titi'at could hold as many as 12 people and all their gear, and all the trade goods they were carrying, to trade with other people, either along the coast or on Santa Catalina Island, one of the Channel Islands. The Tongva canoed out to greet Spanish explorer Juan Cabrillo when he arrived off the shores of San Pedro in 1542. Modern place-names with Tongva origins include: Pacoima, Tujunga, Topanga, Rancho Cucamonga, Azusa, and Cahuenga Pass. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, sailing for Spain, first set foot on the island on October 7, 1542. He claimed the island for Spain and christened it San Salvador. Another Spanish explorer, Sebastian Vizcaino, rediscovered the island on the eve of Saint Catherine's day (November 24) in 1602. He renamed it Santa Catalina, to honor the feast day of St. Catherine of Alexandria. During the next 300 years, the island served as home or base of operation for many visitors, including Spanish and Mexican landowners, Russian otter hunters, English fur traders, French smugglers, Franciscan monks, itinerant fishermen, and American gold miners, among others. Franciscan monks considered building a mission there, but abandoned the idea due to the lack of fresh water on the island. By the 1830s, most of the island's native population had migrated to the mainland to work in the missions or as ranch hands for the many private land owners. Santa Catalina Island was in private hands since Mexican Governor Pio Pico granted it to Thomas Robbins in 1846. In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ceded California to the U.S. Government but the Channel Islands were not included. The treaty was redrawn in 1852, and Santa Catalina Island was included on the list of islands the U.S. was to acquire. Santa Catalina Island was garrisoned temporarily by Union troops during the Civil War and again by the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II. However, Santa Catalina Island is more well known as a vacation destination or an island resort, than as the location of military facilities. The mild Mediterranean climate of Southern California has long been a magnet to both visitors and prospective residents who sought relief from harsh eastern winters. Santa Catalina Island had long been considered an ideal, if not inconvenient, destination for health seekers. Early visitors were few due to the lack of any form of amenities and the uncertainties of travel in small chartered boats. The island experienced a brief gold rush in 1860s, but very little gold was actually found. On January 1, 1864, the federal government, fearing attempts to outfit privateers by Confederate sympathizers in the American Civil War, put an end to the mining by ordering everyone off the island. A small garrison of Union troops were stationed at the Isthmus on the island's west end for about nine months. Company C of the 4th Infantry, California Volunteers, commanded by Captain B. R. West, occupied the island. The Army established Camp Santa Catalina Island with the idea of converting it into a reservation for Indians. However, when the proposal was abandoned, so was the Army post. Their barracks stand as the oldest structure on the island and is currently the home of the Isthmus Yacht Club. By the end of 19th century, the island was almost uninhabited except for a few cattle herders. The island's location was just 20 miles from Los Angeles, a city with a population of 50,000 in 1890. Los Angeles was undergoing aperiod of enormous growth. This was a major factor that contributed to the development of the island into a vacation destination. George Shatto, a real estate speculator from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and a very successful developer of downtown Los Angeles, convinced of the island's potential as a real estate development, purchased Santa Catalina Island in 1887 for $200,000. On a cove on the southwest corner of the island, Shatto constructed a wharf and the eighty room Hotel Metropole and surveyed the surrounding town, which was named Avalon. However, due to transportation difficulties, limited facilities and relatively expensive land prices, Shatto's hoped for real estate sales were less than spectacular and he was unable to make mortgage payments, resulting in foreclosure. In 1892, the Banning Brothers purchased the island for $128,740. They immediately initiated plans to remodel and enlarge the Metropole Hotel. By 1894 the island's operations had grown so dramatically that it prompted the incorporation of a new Banning subsidiary, the Santa Catalina Island Company, into which the Bannings placed title to all Catalina holdings in 1896. By 1902, Avalon's winter population was estimated to be five hundred. In summer, the number swelled to six or eight thousand. In 1904, a Greek amphitheater was completed in a natural bowl high above Avalon. By the summer of 1908, the island was a popular summer resort for the wealthy of Southern California. The sons of Phineas Banning built a home at what is now Two Harbors, and is now that village's hotel. Their efforts were set back on November 29, 1915 when a fire burned half of Avalon's buildings, including six hotels and several clubs. World War I also hampered tourism, and the Banning brothers were forced to sell the island in 1919, to chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. The island came under new ownership and management in 1919, when William Wrigley, Jr. (1861-1932) purchased Santa Catalina Island for $3,000,000, and acquired a majority interest in the Santa Catalina Island Company from the Bannings. Wrigley was determined to preserve substantially all of Santa Catalina Island in its natural state. During the next 56 years, various conservation practices were initiated by the Wrigley-led Santa Catalina Island Company, including much-needed animal controls, protection of watersheds and reseeding of overgrazed areas. Buffalo and Mule Deer In December 1924, 14 buffalo were turned loose on Catalina island for use in filming the motion picture, "The Vanishing American," early the following spring. After the picture was completed, it was agreed that the buffalo could remain on Catalina and they were again turned loose to live off the land. By October 1927, five of the buffaloes had been shot, but police officers were unable to link anyone with the shootings. By 1934, eight of the original buffalo, plus eleven others that were born on Catalina, s till roamed the Island. In the fall of 1934, nine buffalo were imported to augment the herd of 19, bringing the island population to 28. The buffalo continued to thrive and multiply, and by 1969 it was estimated that there were approximately 400 buffalo on Catalina Island. In December, 1969, because it was felt there had been too much in- breeding and new blood would improve the herd, 15 bull calves, approximately eight months old, were brought to Catalina from Gillette, Wyoming. At that time a program was begun of culling the herd each year and periodically introducing new bulls. In 2001, there were 350 buffalo on the island. In 1930, 19 mule deer were introduced to Catalina Island as a hunting resource. Their numbers reached 2000 in the 1950s. In 2001, there were 850 mule deer on the island. The buffalo and mule deer programs on Catalina are managed by the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy. World War II During World War II, all of Southern California’s Channel Islands were put under complete military control, including the civilian populated Santa Catalina Island. The island was closed to tourists, and established residents needed permits to travel to and from the mainland. Santa Catalina Island was used as a military training facility. Catalina's steamships were expropriated for use as troop transports, the U.S. Maritime Service set up a training facility in Avalon, the Coast Guard established a training base at Two Harbors, the Army Signal Corp maintained a radar station in the interior, and the Office of Strategic Services (a precursor to the CIA) did training at Toyon Bay. San Miguel Island was used as a bombing range and Santa Barbara Island was used as an early warning outpost, under the presumed threat of a Japanese attack on California. Camp Cactus In 1941, the U.S. Army acquired approximately 3.5 acres by leasehold or license from the Wrigley family. Camp Cactus was constructed during 1941-1942, and on November 1, 1942, the Army Corps of Engineers formally leased the site, and Camp Cactus was opened. The camp was used to house military personnel that operated island radar sites, and was protected by artillery and antiaircraft guns during World War II. Standing in a secluded gully, high in the rugged interior of the island, not far from the 1,560 foot Cactus Peak, Camp Cactus was operated by the 654th Signal Corps, Aircraft Warning Company, attached to the 4th Army Air Corps. Besides conducting secret radar and surveillance operations, soldiers from Camp Cactus manned gun emplacements along the mountain slope above China Point and Salta Verde Point. Though Camp Cactus was only about 6 miles as the crow flies, from the city of Avalon; it was 14 miles via a one-lane dirt road that wound up and down steep mountains and narrow canyons. The original camp consisted of approximately 20 wood structures housing 500-600 men. The buildings were constructed of wood and only two buildings, housing the latrine/showers and the motor pool, had concrete floors. There were six major buildings, including a mess/dining hall and headquarters buildings. All other buildings appear to have been barracks and support. Camp Cactus' mission was to detect the approach of Japanese warplanes or ships. Radio transmitters, antennas and other equipment installation was completed in 1942, and early 1943. Once these secret radar systems were operational, there was no place for the enemy to hide, far out into the Pacific Ocean. Beyound the south and west facing cliffs of Santa Catalina Island, the next landfalls are in Polynesia. During its peak of operation, 600 men were stationed at Camp Cactus, with 150-200 of them in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Other base activities were strung out across the south central portions of the island. High on Mount Orizaba, a tall slender observation tower was erected. On the steep slopes below Camp Cactus, other military installations were established. On top of a ridge, above Ben Weston Beach, the Corps of Engineers built a series of bunkers, tunnels and anti-aircraft emplacements. Effective with the establishment of the base, in November, 1942; the U.S. Navy also established a U.S. Naval Radio Station, with a co-located Navy Direction Finding Site on Catalina Island, just below and adjacent to Camp Cactus. Navy Radiomen, including women of the Navy's Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES), were assigned to operate Direction Finding equipment, as well as encoding and decoding messages during World War II. Women were first allowed to join the Navy as WAVES, commencing in 1942. In August, 1945, Camp Cactus was closed, and the U.S. Naval Radio Station also closed. Over the years the wooden structures have badly deteriorated, and in 1975, local islanders began removing the buildings for fire wood. Currently there are only five buildings of the original twenty, still standing at the camp, which is now part of the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy. Catalina's airport, the "Airport in the Sky", was completed in 1946. The 3,250-foot runway sits on a mountaintop, 1,602 feet above sea level. Up until the time of the airport's construction, the only air service to the island was provided by seaplanes. Santa Catalina Island Conservancy In 1972, members of the Wrigley family established the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy as a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation and preservation of Santa Catalina Island. In 1974, the Santa Catalina Island Company entered into a 50-year open space agreement with Los Angeles County, guaranteeing public recreational and educational use of 41,000 acres of Santa Catalina Island, consistent with good land conservation practices. On February 15, 1975, the final step was taken to ensure the protection of the majority of Santa Catalina Island when Mr. and Mrs. Philip K. Wrigley and Mrs. Dorothy Wrigley Offield, through the Santa Catalina Island Company, deeded 42,135 acres of the Island's interior (88% of the island) to the Conservancy, including 48 miles of coastline. The Conservancy received land title to most of the Island in 1976. The Conservancy's purpose is to preserve the Island's native plants and animals, its biological communities and its geological and geographical formations of educational interest. The Conservancy also owns and operates Catalina Island's Airport-In-The-Sky, the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden in Avalon (built in 1933-34), and a Nature Center. The interior of the island is covered with broad valleys, isolated coves, pristine beaches, two thousand-foot peaks and near-vertical shoreline palisades and is home to thousands of species of unique native plants and animals. It is in the Conservancy lands that Catalina Island Fox, the Beechey Ground Squirrel, and Catalina Island Quail traverse the hills freely. These animals are endemic to Catalina and are found nowhere else in the world. Buffalo (actually North American Bison) were introduced in 1924. Bald Eagles, which have been re-introduced to the island, soar above the coves. Two Harbors is a rustic resort village located at Catalina Island's isthmus, 23 miles by land or 14 miles by sea, west of Avalon. Two Harbors is a popular recreation destination. Opportunities at Two Harbors include hiking on ocean-view trails, snorkeling and scuba diving at nearby world-renowned sites, ocean kayaking among secret coves, mountain biking along ridge roads, and pleasure boating. There is one restaurant and one general store. The Banning House Lodge is the only hotel in Two Harbors. 2007 Wildfire On May 10, 2007, fire broke out in the hills north and west of the city of Avalon. At least three structures burned, and over 4000 acres were consumed by flames. About 300 firefighters battled the blaze, with replacements arriving by U.S. Navy hovercraft and U.S. Marine helicopters from Camp Pendleton. U.S. Navy Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) hovercraft carried several firefighting vehicles and crews to Catalina Island to fight the wildfires. The LCACs, assigned to Assault Craft Unit (ACU) 5, were deployed out of Camp Pendleton. They can carry 60 tons over land or water and are used for both military and humanitarian missions. ACU-5 also helped combat brush fires on the island in 1999 and 2006. Seven hundred Santa Catalina Island residents were evacuated to the César E. Chávez center in Long Beach. On June 1, 2007, it was reported that the fire did not cause any damage to the city of Avalon, the community of Two Harbors or other activities. 4,750 acres of interior chaparral burned, sparing most wildlife, including the Catalina Island Fox, bald eagles and bison. Navy Direction Finding Site, Catalina Island, CA Nov 1942 Aug 1945 at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Catalina Island, CA Nov 1942 Aug 1945 =================================================================================== Cattle Point, Washington There are two lighthouses located on San Juan Island, the largest island in the San Juan archipelago. The Lime Kiln Light Station, built in 1919, is located in Lime Kiln State Park, on the west side of the island in Dead Man’s Bay overlooking Haro Strait. Cattle Point Lighthouse, built in 1935, is located in the Cattle Point Interpretive Area next to American Camp, a section of the San Juan National Historical Park, on the southeastern tip of the island. The lights are positioned to guide vessels entering the Haro Strait and San Juan Islands from the Strait of Juan de Fuca and continue to be important aids to navigation. San Juan Island received its name from the Spanish explorer Francisco de Eliza who charted and explored the islands in 1791. Eliza, realizing there were several islands in the group, wrote on his chart "Isla y Archiepelago de San Juan." Other British and American explorers renamed the island over the years, but eventually the original Spanish name was restored on the charts. San Juan Island is located in San Juan County, a 172-square-mile county in the northwest corner of Washington. The county is bounded on the west by Haro Strait, on the east by the Strait of Georgia and Rosario Strait, and on the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Both British and Americans occupied the islands, which led to the armed dispute in 1859 known as the "Pig War" (1859-1872). The "Pig War" is the name commonly given to the 13-year standoff between the American Army and British Royal Navy on San Juan Island that began in the summer of 1859, after an American settler shot a British pig on the island that both nations claimed. The "war" is celebrated because it was ultimately resolved by negotiation and compromise instead of by guns and force, and there were no casualties, except the pig. The confrontation and its resolution are also significant in Washington history because the award of the San Juans (San Juan, Orcas, Lopez, Shaw, and many smaller islands) to the U.S. instead of Great Britain led to the creation of Washington's San Juan County and finalized the borders of the state that exist today. As the result of an arbitration, Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany decided the ownership of the San Juan Islands on October 21, 1872, awarding the archipelago to the United States. San Juan County, named for the largest island in the group, was formed by the Washington Territorial Legislature on October 31, 1873. After the boundary dispute was settled, the Secretary of the Interior asked the U.S. Lighthouse Board to identify suitable locations in the San Juan Islands for lights. In 1875, the board, working from charts, identified 23 potential sites to provide for all probable events. The four sites chosen for major lighthouses were Cattle Point and Lime Kiln Point on San Juan Island, and Patos Island and Turn Point on Stuart Island. To assist in the complex navigation through the Islands, other locations would be marked with lesser lights, buoys, and fog signals, marking the waterways. Cattle and sheep grazing figured early in the history of the San Juan Island group, giving their name to Cattle Point, located on Cape San Juan on the southeastern tip of the San Juan Island, which overlooks the Strait of Juan De Fuca. In 1853, the Hudson Bay Company established the Belle Vue Farm cattle ranch, where cattle and other livestock were unloaded at a dock. In 1857, a vessel was stranded nearby, and its load of cattle swam ashore near the point. The name was first used on the British Admiralty charts in 1858. The Lummi Indian name for the point was Who-shung-ing. Prior to the settlement of the San Juan Islands boundary dispute, Cattle Point was part of American Camp, the U.S. Army’s encampment, during the "Pig War." The first light on Cattle Point, a simple brass lens lantern on a post, was established in 1888. The light was maintained by George Jakle, a soldier who had been stationed at the American Camp. Jakle stayed on the Island after his enlistment, raising sheep on a farm nearby. He was supplied at regular intervals by a lighthouse tender that came into Griffin Bay near the point, dropping supplies off on the beach and five-gallon containers of kerosene. The lens required daily maintenance and the lantern’s reservoir needed to be filled once a week. In 1921, the U.S. Navy built a Radio Compass Station near the light. This new aid-to- navigation broadcasted radio signals from Cattle Point, Smith Island, and New Dungeness to enable navigation through the worst weather using triangulation. The Navy built a radio tower, transmitting station, concrete power house, and living quarters for the sailors assigned to operate the radio compass, and took over responsibility for maintaining the light. The Lighthouse Service replaced the lens lantern with a 34-foot octagonal, concrete tower and fog-signal building in 1935, when the Navy closed the Radio Compass Station. Sitting on a bluff at a height of 94 feet, the new optic, a non-rotating, 375-mm drum lens inside the lantern, used an electric lightbulb to produce a 1,500-candlepower light visible for seven miles. The new foghorn, activated by an electric air compressor, was mounted outside the fog signal building. Unlike most lighthouses, the new Cattle Point Lighthouse had no full-time U.S. Lighthouse Service keeper appointed. Instead, the Lighthouse Service hired a contract lighthouse keeper to care for the tower and activate the beacon and fog signal. The Cattle Point Lighthouse was automated in the late 1950s, one of the first so upgraded in Washington state. The white tower had its lantern removed, and replaced with a small 250-mm drum lens, displayed from a short mast on top of the capped tower. The exposed optic, flashing white every four seconds, uses photoelectric cells to turn the light on at night and off in the morning. The electric foghorn, mounted on a cement pad in front of the lighthouse, is activated by an automatic sensor that detects moisture in the air, sounding one two-second blast once every 15 seconds. In 2006, both the light and foghorn were reconfigured to be powered by solar-cell batteries, which are maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard’s Aids To Navigation Branch in Seattle. The Cattle Point lighthouse received a temporary makeover in 1984, and enjoyed brief fame, when it was used as a backdrop set for an Exxon television commercial. The Cattle Point Lighthouse and restored Navy Radio Compass Station, still owned by the Coast Guard, are located in the Cattle Point Interpretive Area next to American Camp, a section of the San Juan Island National Historic Park, established on September 9, 1966. The National Park Service listed the park, which includes British Camp at Garrison Bay, on the National Register as a Historic Site on October 15, 1966. Although the lighthouse is closed to the public, it can be visited by taking a short walk up a trail from the parking area and the picnic shelter near the end of Cattle Point Road. U.S. Navy Radio Compass Station, Cattle Point, WA 1921 1935 Navy Direction Finding Station, Cattle Point, WA 1921 1935 at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Cattle Point, WA =================================================================================== Chatham, Massachusetts Chatham is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts. Chatham is bordered by Harwich to the west, Pleasant Bay and Harwich to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and Nantucket Sound to the south. The town is 35 miles south of Provincetown and east of the Sagamore Bridge, 20 miles east of Barnstable, and 85 miles southeast of Boston. The population was 6,625 at the 2000 census. Chatham is home to the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, located on Monomoy Island; which is an 8 mile long spit of sand extending southwest from a corner of the town of Chatham, just off the Cape Cod, Massachusetts mainland. Native American tribes that lived in the area prior to European colonization include the Nauset, specifically the Manomoy or Monomoy people. "Manamoyik" was a Nauset village located near present-day Chatham. Explorer Samuel de Champlain landed here in 1606, contacting (and skirmishing with) the Nauset. English settlers first settled in Chatham in 1665, and the town was incorporated in 1712, naming it after Chatham, Kent, England. Located at the "elbow" of Cape Cod, the community became a shipping, fishing and whaling center. Chatham's early prosperity would leave it with a considerable number of 18th century buildings, whose charm helped it develop into a popular summer resort. Chatham is also the home to the Chatham Lighthouse, which was founded by President Thomas Jefferson in 1808 to protect the ships circling the Cape. Originally consisting of two lights, the pair were moved back and rebuilt in 1877, but the second was moved to Eastham to become the Nauset Light in 1923, after both were upgraded to rotating lights. Today, the keeper's house is home to a Coast Guard station which tends the light. Although sprawl has started to invade the country and even Cape Cod, the town of Chatham still boasts a quaint and walkable Main Street. Main Street is home to numerous family owned and operated shops, restaurants and businesses. The main shopping area features pedestrian-friendly crosswalks, on-street parallel parking and some parking lots that are off Main Street. During the summer, concerts are held in a gazebo on Main Street, and not far from the shops is where the Chatham Athletics baseball team plays The mainland portion of the town is typical of Cape Cod, with several ponds, brooks, rivers, harbors, and inlets around the town. The town also includes two narrow strips of land, the northern of which is the southern part of the Cape Cod National Seashore, which serve as a barrier between the Atlantic and the mainland. There are several islands, including Strong Island, Tern Island (which is a sanctuary), Morris Island and Monomoy Island (Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge). For a detailed history of the town of Chatham, see the History of Barnstable County, Massachusetts, edited by Simeon L. Deyo. 1890. New York: H. W. Blake & Co at the following URL: . Whaling and other fishing had reached a large development at the end of the colonial era. Cape Cod then had more than a thousand ships and more than ten thousand men engaged in the work, though Marblehead and Gloucester had taken precedence of all Cape towns. Plymouth and Chatham were the Old Colony centers, Plymouth having sixty vessels and Chatham about half that number. Thus at a time when nearly all Old Colony men were trained sailors, they were ready to take, as they did take, a large part in driving the French power from North America. Equally important was their service in the American Navy in the War of the Revolution. Established on June 15, 1917, and commissioned in January 1918; NAS Chatham, MA was a patrol base for seaplanes. On July 21, 1918, a surfaced German submarine, fired on a tugboat and three barges three miles off Nauset Beach on Cape Cod, Massachusets, was attacked by two seaplanes from NAS Chatham MA. After firing on both aircraft, the submarine submerged and escaped. NAS Chatham ceased operation on May 15, 1920 and was closed in 1922. Naval Supplentary Radio Station (DF RI) Chatham, MA Oct 1942 Jun 1945 at Naval Radio Station (NAVRADSTA) Chatham, MA Station "C", in 1943 Returned to owners =================================================================================== China Fleet Radio Unit Pacific (FRUPAC) Detachments in China, World War II Chiki (Chiki-yang), China Navy Direction Finding Station Chiki, China Mar 1943 (1945) =================================================================================== Chungking (Chongqing), China Chongqing (formerly Chungking) is the largest and most populous of the People's Republic of China's four provincial-level municipalities, and the only one in the less densely populated western half of China. Formerly (until March 14, 1997) a provincial city within Sichuan Province, the municipality of Chongqing has a registered population of 31,442,300 (2005). The boundaries of Chongqing municipality reach much further into the city's hinterland than the boundaries of the other three provincial level municipalities (Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin), and much of the municipality, which is roughly the size of Austria, is rural. The population of the urban area of Chongqing proper was 4.1 million in 2005. Chongqing is a major inland trading port transporting goods from the southwestern provinces to eastern China. Known for heavy industrial and military industry, Chongqing is home to Asia's largest aluminum plant, South West Aluminium. The surrounding area is rich in natural resources, with more than forty kinds of minerals with coal reserves estimated to be 4.8 billion tonnes. It has China's largest natural gas field. Chongqing's agricultural sector still employs a significant portion of the population. The city has been used as a resettlement area for refugees from the Three Gorges Dam project. In 1891, Chungking became the first inland commerce port open to foreigners. From 1929, Chungking became a municipality of the Republic of China. During the Second Chinese-Japanese War (1937-1945), it was Chiang Kai-shek's provisional capital and was heavily bombed by the Japanese Air Force. Many factories and universities were moved from eastern China to Chungking during the war, transforming it from inland port to a heavy-industrial city. In 1954, the municipality was reduced to a provincial city within the Sichuan Province of the People's Republic of China. Fleet Radio Unit Pacific (FRUPAC) Detachment (DF RI) Oct 1942 30 Aug 1945 Chungking, China =================================================================================== Kweilin (Guilin), China Guilin (formerly Kweilin) is a city in China, situated in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on the west bank of the Lijiang River. Its name means "forest of Sweet Osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant Sweet Osmanthus trees located in the city. Fleet Radio Unit Pacific (FRUPAC) Detachment (RI) May 1944 Oct 1944 Kweilin, China Moved to Kunming =================================================================================== Kunming (K'un-ming), China Kunming is the capital city of Yunnan province, China. It has an estimated population of 5,740,000 including 3,055,000 in the urban area and is located at the northern edge of the large Lake Dian. Because of its year-round temperate weather, Kunming is often called the "Spring City" In the 20th Century, Kunming was targeted by the Imperial Japanese Air Force during their campaigns in China. The American Volunteer Group, also known as the Flying Tigers, flew out of Kunming in 1941 and 1942, in defiance of Japanese aggression. They also were tasked with defending China's lifeline to the outside world, the Burma Road and the Ledo Road, which had Kunming as its Northern terminus. Fleet Radio Unit Pacific (FRUPAC) Detachment (DF RI) Oct 1944 Aug 1945 Kunming, China =================================================================================== Tsingtao (Tsing-tao) (Qingdao), China Qingdao, well-known to the West by its Postal map spelling Tsingtao, is a sub- provincial city in eastern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders Yantai to the northeast, Weifang to the west and Rizhao to the southwest. Lying across the Shandong Peninsula, while looking out to the Yellow Sea, Qingdao today is a major seaport, Naval base, and industrial center. It is also the site of the Tsing-tao Brewery. The character qing) in Chinese means "green" or "lush," while the character dao means "island." It was recently named China's 9th-most livable city by China Daily. The area of which Qingdao is located today was called Jiao'ao when it was administered by the Qing Dynasty. In 1891, the Qing Government decided to make the area a primary defence base against Naval attacks, and planned the construction of a city. Little was done, however, until 1897 when the city was ceded to Germany. The Germans soon turned Tsingtao into a strategically important port that was administered by the Department of the Navy (Reichsmarineamt) rather than the Colonial Office (Reichskolonialamt). They based here their Far East Squadron, allowing the fleet to conduct operations throughout the Pacific. The German Imperial government planned and built the first streets and institutions of the city, including the world-famous Tsingtao Brewery. German influence extended to other areas of Shandong Province, including the establishment of rival breweries. Soon after the outbreak of World War I, the German forces left Tsingtao, rather than waiting to be trapped in the harbor by Allied fleets. After a subsequent minor British Naval attack on the German colony in 1914, Japan occupied the city and the surrounding province during the Siege of Tsingtao, after Japan's declaration of war on Germany in accordance with the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. The Allied powers failed to restore Chinese rule to Shandong after the war. The city reverted to Chinese rule in 1922, under control of the Republic of China. The city became a direct-controlled municipality of the ROC Government in 1929. Japan reoccupied Tsingtao in 1938, with its plans of territorial expansion onto China's coast. After World War II, the Republic of China allowed Tsingtao to serve as the headquarters of the Western Pacific Fleet of the U.S. Navy. On June 2, 1949, the CCP-led Red Army entered Tsingtao, and the city and province have been under People's Republif of China (PRC) control, since that time. Since the 1984 inauguration of China's open-door policy to foreign trade and investment, Qingdao has developed quickly as a modern port city. It is now the headquarters of the Chinese Navy's northern fleet. Naval Communications Supplementary Detachment (RI) Sep 1945 Apr 1949 (NAVCOMMUNIT 36) Tsingtao, China Commanded by a Chief in Charge. =================================================================================== Chincoteague Island, Virginia Chincoteague is a town of under 5000 people on Chincoteague Island in Accomack County. Chincoteague is part of the Eastern Shore of Virginia, that peninsula which bounds the Chesapeake Bay. The Island, which is nine miles long by a mile and a half wide, is sheltered not only by the long mainland to the west, but to the east by Assateague, an island running up through Maryland, and is connected with the mainland by a five mile causeway and bridges. The Island received its name from the tribe of Indians known as the Gingo-Teague Tribe. The name Chincoteague has been spelled in various ways; Gingoteague, Gingoteak, Gengoteie, Jengoteague. Some say that the word may also mean "Beautiful land across the water". Chief Barabokees ruled at Chincoteague, under the great Chief and Emperor Waskawampe (d. 1656). Colonel Daniel Jenifer, a surveyor appointed by Governor Berkeley, in the middle of the 17th century, applied for a grant from the Colony of Virginia, and obtained 1500 acres on Gingoteague Island on April l, 1671. In 1672, the first settlements on Chincoteague and Assateague were established, and the small Indian tribes were driven away to the mainland. The people lived in rudely constructed, one room log huts, having one window and one door hung on wooden hinges. Other homes were made out of slabs of wood. There were no floors except white, ocean sand. Fireplaces made of stones or shells piled up in one corner of the room, provided heat for cooking and warmth. Candles were very costly and could be purchased on the mainland for .25¢ each, but only the wealthier settlers could afford them. During the Revolutionary War, Eastern Shore waters were used as a refuge for privateers from Virginia and other states, when they were overloaded with captured goods or being chased by British ships. The first Assateague Lighthouse was constructed in 1833. Construction of a taller replacement lighthouse, with a more powerfully illuminating brick structure, was completed in 1867, shortly after the Civil War. In 1891 the light was substantially upgraded, and a separate oil storage building was cvopnstructed. A new assistant keeper's house was built in 1910. In 1929, the keeper staff was reduced. In 1932, the lighthouse oil lamps were replaced by an electric lamp, and the original keeper's house was removed. Today the 1910 lighthouse and the oil shed are still owned by the U.S. Coast Guard. The assistant keeper's house is used as seasonal staff residence. The lighthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places. World War II facilities at Chincoteague Island, included the Naval Auxiliary Air Station; a Navy Direction Finding Station, Chincoteague Island, VA; Chincoteague Training Unit, Fleet Air Wing Five; and the U.S. Naval Aviation Ordnance Test Station, Chincoteague, VA. The Naval Aviation Ordnance Test Station was established at Naval Auxillary Air Station Chincoteague, VA on January 26, 1946. Other military activities on Chincoteague Island included the Naval Air Facility, Chincoteague Island, VA; a Navy Outlying Field and a U.S. Coast Guard Station. The town is perhaps best known for the Chincoteague Ponies, although these are not actually on the island of Chincoteague but on nearby Assateague Island. A picturesque legend has it that the feral ponies on Assateague are descendants of survivors of a Spanish galleon, that sank on its way to Mexico, during a storm off the coast of the island; but the likelihood is that they are actually descended from domesticated stock, brought to the island by Eastern Shore farmers in the 17th century to avoid fencing requirements. In 1962, a major nor'easter winter storm, the Ash Wednesday Storm, struck the coast. The town was completely underwater, and went for days without electricity. Almost all structures on Assateague Island, where development was just beginning, were destroyed. Following this, most of the island was preserved from development as Assateague Island National Seashore in 1965. Wallops Island is a 6 square mile island, off the east coast of Virginia, part of the barrier islands, that stretch along the Atlantic seaboard. It is located in Accomack County, just south of Chincoteague Island. Navy Direction Finding Station, Chincoteague Island, VA 1942 1943 =================================================================================== Cooktown, Queensland, Australia Cooktown is a small frontier town located in the far north of tropical North Queensland. It is the northernmost town on the East coast of Australia, located at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, Australia. The Guugu Yimithirr name for the region, Gan.gaarr, means "(place of the) rock crystals," as quartz crystals, which were used in various Aboriginal ceremonies, are found in the vicinity and were traded at least as far south as modern Mossman, to the north of Cairns. The site of modern Cooktown was the meeting place of two vastly different cultures when, in June 1770, the local Aboriginal Guugu Yimithirr tribe cautiously watched the crippled sailing vessel His Majesty's Bark Endeavour limp up the coast of their territory seeking a safe harbour after sustaining serious damage to its wooden hull from running aground on Endeavour Reef south of Cooktown. The Guugu Yimithirr saw Endeavour beached in the calm waters near the mouth of their river, which they called "Wahalumbaal." James Cook, wrote, "... it was happy for us that a place of refuge was at hand; for we soon found that the ship would not work, and it is remarkable that in the whole course of our voyage we had seen no place that our present circumstances could have afforded us the same relief." The English crew spent seven weeks on the site of the present day Cooktown, repairing their ship, replenishing food and water supplies, and caring for their sick. While the wealthy scientist, Joseph Banks, and Swedish naturalist Daniel Solander, who accompanied Cook on the expedition, were collecting, preserving and documenting many new species of plants, the young artist Sydney Parkinson was illustrating them. He was the first English artist to portray Aboriginal people from direct observation. After some weeks, Banks met and spoke with the local people, recording about 50 Guugu Yimithirr words, including the name of the intriguing animal the natives called gangurru (which he transcribed as "Kangaru"). The kangaroo was first seen by European settlers on Grassy Hill during this trip. Cook named the river, the "Endeavour", after his ship, and, as they sailed north, he hoisted the flag known as the 'Queen Anne Jack' and claimed possession of the whole eastern coast of Australia for Britain. He named Cape York Peninsula after the Duke of York. The next recorded expedition to the area was nearly 50 years later, when another botanist, Allan Cunningham, accompanying Captain Philip Parker King, visited the remarkable region in 1819-20. He also collected numerous botanical specimens for the British Museum and Kew Gardens. In 1872, William Hann discovered gold on the Palmer River, southwest of Cooktown. His findings were reported to James Venture Mulligan who led an expedition to the Palmer River in 1873. Mulligan's expedition found quantities of alluvial gold and thus began the gold rush that was to bring prospectors to the Endeavour River from all over the world. The Queensland government responded quickly to Mulligan's reports, and soon a party was dispatched to advise whether the Endeavour River would be a suitable site for a port. Shortly after, a new township was established at the site of the present town, on the southern bank of the Endeavour River. The Palmer Goldfields, and its center, Maytown, were growing quickly. The recorded output of gold from 1873 to 1890 was over half a million ounces (or more than 15,500 kg). Cooktown was the port through which this gold was exported and supplies for the goldfields brought in. Word of the gold quickly spread, and Cooktown was soon thriving, as prospectors arrived from around the world. Population estimates vary widely, but there were probably around 7,000 people in the area and about 4,000 permanent residents in the town by 1880. At that time, Cooktown boasted a large number of hotels and guest houses. There were 47 licensed pubs within the town boundaries in 1874, although this number had dropped to 27 by the beginning of 1880. There were also a number of illegal grog shops and several brothels. There were bakeries, a brewery and a soft drinks factory, dressmakers and milliners, a brickworks, a cabinetmaker, and two newspapers. The port of Cooktown served the nearby goldfields and, during the goldrush of the 1870s, a Chinese community many thousands strong grew up in both the fields and in the town itself. The Chinese played an important role in the early days of Cooktown. Estimates of over 20,000 Chinese passed through Cooktown. They came originally as prospectors. At one time Cooktown had a separate Chinatown with around 3,000 people. Many established market gardens, supplying the town and the goldfields with fruit, vegetables and rice, while others opened shops. >From 1873-83, Cooktown was established as the port for the Palmer River gold rush, which exacerbated race relations between the Europeans, Aboriginals and Chinese. Largely through cultural misunderstandings, conflict broke out between the Aboriginal people, the new settlers, and the diggers. The Cooktown Herald, in an article dated December 8, 1875, reported, "The natives wholly ignorant of the terrible firepower of fire-arms, and confiding in their numbers, showed a ferocity and daring wholly unexpected and unsurpassed. Grasping the very muzzles of the rifles they attempted to wrest them from the hands of the whites, standing to be shot down, rather than yield an inch" It was an unequal struggle. Whole tribes were wiped out as European settlement spread over Cape York Peninsula. Transport was an ongoing problem for the new settlers. Getting supplies and people to the gold fields often took three weeks. After every wet season the tracks and bridges had to be remade. A railway line from Cooktown to Maytown, was planned, but it took five years to get the 67 miles to Laura, Queensland, and that is where it stopped. By that time the gold was petering out, so the Queensland Government refused further funding for the venture. In spite of this, the train proved to be a lifeline for the Peninsula people connecting the hinterland to Cooktown, from where one could catch a boat to Cairns and other southern ports. The line was closed in 1961 after the Peninsula Development Road was built connecting Cooktown and other Peninsula communities with Cairns and the Atherton Tableland to the south. Cooktown's magnificent Botanic Garden of 62 hectares (154 acres) was established near the town in 1878. Much work was done in the early stages, with wells sunk, water reticulated, garden beds enclosed, stone-lined paths, stone-pitched pools and footbridges were made, and lawns, trees and shrubs planted. Although the gardens fell into disrepair, in recent years the Gardens have been expanded, and are a favoured destination for botanists and nature lovers. Most of the early stone work has been restored, and beautiful walking tracks lead the visitor through the Botanic Gardens to the magnificent beaches at Finch Bay and Cherry Tree Bay. In 1881, a bridge over the Endeavour River was completed, which opened up the richer pastoral lands of the Endeavour and McIvor River valleys. Tin was found in the Annan River area, south of Cooktown, in 1884. With the gold rush over, the number of people living in the area started dwindling. Two major fires struck Cooktown, in 1875 and, again, in 1919; when whole blocks of buildings in the main street were burned to the ground. A major cyclone in 1907 added to the destruction. During the Second World War, following the outbreak of war with Japan, Queensland soon became a virtual frontline, as fears of invasion grew. Several cities and places in Northern Queensland were bombed by the Japanese during their air attacks on Australia. These included Horn Island (it suffered eight Japanese air raids), Townsville Cairns and Mossman. There was a massive build up of Australian and U.S. forces in the state, and the Allied Supreme Commander in the South West Pacific Area, General Douglas MacArthur, established his headquarters in Brisbane. Cooktown became an important base for the war effort. Some 20,000 Australian and American troops were stationed in and around the town. The busy airfield played a key role in the crucial Battle of the Coral Sea when Japanese expansion towards the Australian mainland was finally halted. Most of the population of Cape York Peninsula, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, were moved "down south" to Woorabinda, near Rockhampton, for the duration of the War. Many Aboriginal people died when moved from their traditional lands, and many Aboriginal and white families never returned from their exile. Portland Roads, a port on Cape York Peninsula, became a military strong point during World War II, with the construction of Iron Range Air Force Base. Naval vessels berthed here and thousands of American troops passed through the port. In 1949, another cyclone devastated the town, and Cooktown's population declined further. With the closure of the rail link to Laura in 1961 and the Peninsula Development Road opened up to the south, the population declined to just a few hundred people before it gradually began to climb again. Today, there is a generally harmonious relationship between Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal residents in the region. There is an active Aboriginal Community Centre on the main street called Gungarde (from the original Guugu Yimithirr name for the region). The "Milbi Wall" (or "Story Wall") marks the place of the first encounter between the British seafarers and the local Aborigines. The Milbi Wall tells the story of Cooktown and the Endeavour River from the perspective of the Aboriginal people, and is an outstanding monument to reconciliation. Recently, the population of Cooktown has gradually climbed, and Cooktown has grown in importance again and has become a popular tourist destination. The paving of the Mulligan Highway now provides all-weather access by road for the first time. There are also two flights a day connecting Cooktown with Cairns. The town now has good communications, more services, better roads, and offers residents a relaxed and healthy lifestyle. About 2,000 people live in the town itself while about another 4,000 in the region use it as a service centre. Visitors enjoy the delightful tropical environment, the historical connections, and use it as an access point to the Great Barrier Reef, and the Lakefield National Park. It is also a major fishing attraction and the harbour provides safe anchorage for vessels. Fleet Radio Unit Pacific (FRU) Detachment established Sep 1943 Naval Supplementary Radio Station (RI), Cooktown, May 1944 Oct 1944 Queensland, Australia =================================================================================== Curacao, Netherlands West Indies Curaçao is an island in the southern part of the Caribbean Sea off the north coast of Venezuela. The island is the largest and most populous of the three so-called ABC islands (for Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao) of the Lesser Antilles, specifically the Leeward Antilles. Like Aruba and Bonaire, Curaçao is a transcontinental island that is geographically part of South America, but is also considered to be part of West Indies and one of the Leeward Antilles. Curaçao belongs to the Netherlands Antilles, a self-governing part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Curaçao's capital is Willemstad. Curaçao has a land area of 171 square miles. At the 2001 Netherlands Antilles census, the population was 130,627 inhabitants. In 2004, the population was estimated at 133,644 inhabitants. It lies outside the hurricane belt, but can still occasionally be impacted by hurricanes, such as Hurricane Felix. The Netherlands Antilles includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin). It consists of two island groups, Curacao and Bonaire are located off the coast of Venezuela, and Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius lie 430 miles to the north. The origin of the name Curaçao is still under debate. One explanation is that it is derived from the Portuguese word for 'heart' (coração), referring to the island as a center in trade. Spanish traders took the name over as Curaçao, which was followed by the Dutch. Another explanation is that Curaçao was the name the indigenous peoples of Curaçao had used to label themselves. This theory is supported by early Spanish accounts, which refer to the indigenous peoples as "Indios Curaçaos". The Papiamento word for Curaçao is Kòrsou. The name "Curaçao" has become associated with a particular shade of blue, and is sometimes used as an adjective, because of the deep-blue liqueur named "Blue Curaçao". The original inhabitants of Curaçao were Arawak Amerindians. The first Europeans to see the island were members of a Spanish expedition under the leadership of Alonso de Ojeda in 1499. The Spaniards decimated the Arawak with diseases such as smallpox and measles. The island was occupied by the Dutch in 1634. The Dutch West India Company founded the capital of Willemstad on the banks of an inlet called the Schottegat. Curaçao had been previously ignored by colonists because it lacked many things that colonists were interested in, such as gold deposits. However, the natural harbour of Willemstad proved quickly to be an ideal spot for trade. Commerce and shipping, and also piracy, became Curaçao's most important economic activities. A lively illicit trade with the Spanish colonials on the mainland developed in Curaçao. Spain's colonies were isolated. Officially, they were only allowed to trade with Spaniards, but the links with the Spanish fleet were tenuous. Consequently, there was a constant shortage of slaves, European goods and customers for products. The illicit trade with the Dutch Republic was more than welcome. In the eighteenth century, the trade grew to such an extent that Venezuela became economically dependent on Curaçao. A situation that continued into the nineteenth century. Between 1650 and 1670, England was regularly at loggerheads with the Dutch. Curaçao's monopoly in the slave trade was especially irritating to the English. Once they had chased the Dutch out of New York in 1665, the English focused their attention on Curaçao. They commissioned privateers to do their dirty work. Towards the close of the eighteenth century, the French occupied the Dutch Republic in Europe. The French navy was soon using Curaçao as a harbor, and the island paid the cost. Moreover, the British, who were at war with France, blockaded the trade of the island. Curaçao was therefore keen to be rid of the French. The island government was even prepared to accept British dominion. From 1800 to 1803 and from 1807 to 1816 Curaçao was administered by the British. The Dutch regained the island in 1816. Meanwhile, the Dutch Republic had become the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with its own Royal Dutch Navy. In addition, Curaçao came to play a pivotal role in one of the most intricate international trade networks in history: the Atlantic slave trade. The Dutch West India Company made Curaçao a center for slave trade in 1662. Dutch merchants brought slaves from Africa to the trading area called Asiento. From there, slaves were sold and shipped to various destinations in South America and the Caribbean. At the height of the trade, large numbers of slaves were traded here. The slave trade made the island affluent, and led to the erection of the impressive colonial buildings that still stand today. Curaçao features architecture that blends various Dutch and Spanish colonial styles. The wide range of other historic buildings in and around Willemstad earned the capital a place on UNESCO's world heritage list. Landhouses (former plantation estates) and West African style 'kas di pal'i maishi' (former slave dwellings) are scattered all over the island and some of them have been restored and can be visited. Curaçao's proximity to South America translated into a long-standing Latin American influence on the island. This is reflected in the architectural similarities between the 19th century parts of Willemstad and nearby Venezuelan city of Coro in Falcón State, the latter also being a UNESCO world heritage site. In the 19th century, Curaçaoans such as Manuel Piar and Luis Brión were actively engaged in the political affairs of the region, such as the wars of independence of Venezuela and Colombia. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the island changed hands among the British, the French, and the Dutch several times. Stable Dutch rule returned in 1815, at the end of the Napoleonic wars. The Dutch abolished slavery in 1863. The end of slavery caused economic hardship, prompting many inhabitants of Curaçao to emigrate to other islands, such as to Cuba to work in sugarcane plantations. When in 1914 oil was discovered in the Maracaibo Basin town of Mene Grande, the fortunes of the island were dramatically altered. Royal Dutch Shell and the Dutch Government had built an extensive oil refinery installation on the former site of the slave-trade market at Asiento, thereby establishing an abundant source of employment for the local population and fueling a wave of immigration from surrounding nations. Curaçao was an ideal site for the refinery as it was away from the social and civil unrest of the South American mainland, but near enough to the Maracaibo Basin oil fields. It also had an excellent natural harbor that could accommodate large oil tankers. During World War II, the Dutch erected a base at Curaçao. Some smaller vessels originally intended for the Netherlands East Indies ended up here. The Japanese thrust in the Pacific prevented them from being sent to their original destination, and they came in handy when the hated German U-boats started to operate in the Carribean from mid February 1942 onwards. The pool of vessels included 12 motor torpedo boats built by the Canadian Power Boat Company, one air/sea rescue boat and two small submarine chasers. Although none of these craft were really suited for their task, they were very useful in finding survivors from torpedoed ships in the vicinity. Because their stay in this part of the world was accidental, there were few facilities to support these craft. The principal base was to be at Parera, near Willemstad on Curaçao. At first, there were only an old slipway and a few tents where repairs were made. New construction was planned, and by the end of 1943, much was accomplished. A 60 metres long concrete jetty was built, in addition to a large boat-house where two MTBs could be overhauled simultaneously. Repair shops were set up adjacent to it, while depth-charges and torpedoes could be stored beneath the earth's surface. There was also several buildings to accommodate the crews during their stay ashore. In the Sint-Annabay, several sheds were rented where torpedoes and depth-charges received their periodical overhauls. In St. Michielsbay, there was a test range for torpedoes. Despite the presence of the well-equipped shore establishments, none of the motor torpedo boats was ever operational as such. Many difficulties with the torpedoes and the tubes had to be overcome, and time wasn't on their side either. The German U-boat threat had virtually vanished by 1944, and there was no need to maintain this large pool of ships here. Some were broken up, others were sent to the UK or Australia. Without the ships, there was no need to keep the base open either. After the official name had changed from "Motor Torpedo Boat Base Parera" to "Marine Base Parera" on June 1, 1944, the base soon ceased to exist. The company brought a degree of affluence to the island. Large housing was provided and Willemstad developed an extensive infrastructure. However, discrepancies started to appear amongst the social groups of Curaçao. The discontent and the antagonisms between Curaçao social groups culminated in large scale rioting and protest on May 30, 1969. The civil unrest fueled a social movement that resulted in the local Afro-Caribbean population attaining more influence over the political process (Anderson and Dynes 1975). The island also developed a tourist industry and offered low corporate taxes to encourage many companies to set up holdings in order to avoid rigorous schemes elsewhere. In the mid 1980s Royal Shell sold the refinery for a symbolic amount to a local government consortium. Since then discussions have centered on changing the constitutional situation as well as finding new sources of income. The government consortium currently leases the refinery to the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA. In recent years, the island had attempted to capitalize on its peculiar history and heritage to expand its tourism industry. As in the Netherlands, prostitution is legal. A large open-air brothel called "The Mirage" or "Campo Alegre" has operated near the main Curaçao airport since the 1940s. It is located just off Franklin D. Roosevelt Weg. As part of the U.S. military's pullout from Howard Air Force Base, Panama, six C-130 and four F-16 aircraft and about 170 airmen assigned to the 24th Wing, and representing two Air Force flying missions, moved on May 1, 1999, to airfields in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Curacao's international airport. The E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System planes that are the heart of the counterdrug fight, and the KC-135 tankers, now fly from MacDill Air Force Base, FL. And the F-15 and F-16 fighters that protect the AWACs, known as Coronet Nighthawk, are flying from three forward operating locations: the Dutch Caribbean islands of Curacao and Aruba, and Manta, Ecuador. The three bases are closer to South American drug-producing centers and Caribbean trafficking routes. In the mid-1990's a yearly deployment of more than 30 U.S, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve fighter units to Panama began to support counterdrug tasking. Now Air National Guard F-16 jet fighters deploy in Curacao for Coronet Nighthawk counterdrug duty at the Dutch Royal Navy Air Station (co-located with the Curacao's Hato International Airport), where Coronet Nighthawk personnel are still currently operating. The Curaçao section of the U.S. Caribbean Forward Operating Location (FOL) hosts F-16s, Navy P-3 Orion's and E-2 Airborne Early Warning planes, E-3 AWACS and other military aircraft. As many as 200 to 230 U.S. military personnel are temporarily deployed on operations at the Dutch Royal Navy Air Station. The senior Dutch military representative in the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba is the Dutch Naval Commander for the Caribbean, who is stationed with his staff at the Parera Dutch Naval Base on Curacao. The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNAF) base is also located on the island of Curacao at "Hato International Airport" which is also referred to as "Hato Airbase". The Dutch operate two P-3C Orion aircraft from this base. Naval Supplementary Radio Station (DF) Curacao Jul 1943 Jun 1945 at the Royal Dutch Navy Motor Torpedo Boat Base Parera, Curacao =================================================================================== Deer Island, Massachusetts Deer Island, located in Boston's Inner Harbor, south of the town of Winthrop, is nearly a mile long, 1/2 a mile wide, and 210 acres in extent. It is the second largest island in the Boston harbor. Deer Island was the site of an Indian internment camp, a farm, a summer resort, a lighthouse, a Quarantine Station, hospital, and an almshouse; a house of corrections, a state prison, a county prison, an Army fort, a Navy Radio Station, a Navy Harbor Defense Command Post, a Boston Harbor Entrance Control Post and an Air force Radar Station. The island was a smidgen of land cut off from the mainland by the frigid waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Until 1936, the only access to the island was by boat. Deer Island ceased being an island in 1936, when Shirley Gut, the gap between Deer Island and the town of Winthrop, Massachusetts, was filled in and a road was built. Deer Island served as an internment camp for Indians during King Philip's War (1675-76). Standing on top of a hill, on Deer Island, a desolate strip of land in Boston Harbor, is the site of the camp where hundreds of Indians, the members of many New England tribes, died of starvation and exposure, during the brutal winter of 1675-76. King Philip, a Wampanoag Indian, whose name was Metacom (aka Metacomet or Pometacom), had lived peacefully with the settlers for several years, as had his father, Sachem Massasoit. But after decades of fraudulent land sales and growing conflicts with the colonists' takeover, Philip launched a war to drive the settlers from New England. Many Indians in the area were Christian converts, who had lived among the English settlers all of their lives. The colonial government believed the Indians could not be trusted to resist joining Philip's efforts. The law that established the Massachusetts concentration camp for Indians was signed into effect by the Massachusetts Council on October 13, 1675, five months after the beginning of King Philip's War against the English settlers. The 1675 law ordered that all Christian Indians be rounded up and transferred to Deer Island for the duration of the war. Months later, the ethnic cleansing expanded to include all Indians, Christian and non-Christian. The war was a devastating conflict that pitted tribes against each other, killed thousands of American Indians, and cleared the way for white settlement. Later, some of the Indians on the island were enlisted to help the colonists defeat the other warring tribes. The law was repealed on May 24, 1677. In the 1700's, Deer Island was farmed and the name of Deer Island came about, due to the fact that mainland wolves drove deer to the island across Shirley Gut. In colonial times, it was used as a navigational marker during the Revolutionary War. In the early 1800's, Deer Island was a popular summer resort, which included a hotel, a ballroom, and a bowling alley. In 1847, after an outbreak of smallpox, the resort was abondoned; and was converted into a hospital and Quarantine Station, where many Irish immigrants died. In 1858, this facility became the House of Reformation for troubled youths. From 1882 to 1896, it was a state prison for male inmates. In 1896, it was reconstituted as the Suffolk County House of Correction, until 1992. The Deer Island Military Reservation, active from 1898 to 1941, consisted solely of searchlight stations (1916), and fire control and mine observation stations (1906, 1920's). Established on Deer Island in 1941, Fort Dawes was a U.S. Army coastal defense anti-aircraft battery site during WWII. In 1941, a Navy Radio Direction Finding Station was established on Deer Island, at a co-located U.S. Naval Radio Station. The station was used throughout WWII to locate the position of ships in the Atlantic, with radio direction finders tuned to the ship's signals. The Navy Radio Direction Finding Station was closed in 1946, at the conclusion of WWII. Beginning in 1948, the post at Fort Dawes hosted a U.S. Air Force Radar and Electronics Experimental Station. The SCR-582 radar was a harbor surveillance set, designed to detect the presence of ships and to determine the approximate range and azimuth to the ship. This method of detection was found to be far superior to visual observation as it is capable of detecting ships at night and under conditions of poor visibility (i.e. fog, smoke, etc). In the 1950s, a U.S. Navy Harbor Defense Command Post, the Boston Harbor Entrance Control Post (HECP), and a NIKE missile launch site were located at Fort Dawes. From 1951 to 1955, there were four 90mm anti-aircraft guns emplaced at Fort Dawes. In the 1960's, Fort Dawes was abandoned by the U.S. Army. All facilities on Deer Island, including all the former sites, and even the U.S. Army WWII gun emplacements and bunkers (1992) were demolished and/or razed in the late 1980's and the early 1990's, to make room for the Mass Water Resources Authority's massive $3.6 billion sewage treatment plant. The Deer Island facility, serving the Boston area since 1889, is the largest sewage treatment plant in New England. The Deer Island Lighthouse was located on the southerly end of the spit, 1/4 mile south of Deer Island, and on the north side of the easterly end of President Roads, Boston Harbor. The staton was established in 1890. The fifth order Fresnel lens was first lit on January 26, 1890. The lens revolved by means of a clockwork mechanism, that had to be periodically wound by hand. A fog bell was mounted on the lower gallery deck, with striking machinery that produced a single blow every 10 seconds. The station was assigned a principal keeper and an assistant. The first keeoper arrived as an assistant in 1893. In 1832, the Boston Marine Society petitioned Congress for $3,000, and stone beacon day mark was placed at Deer Point Island, at the north side of the entrance to Boston's inner harbor and about 500 yards south of the island's southeasterly point. In 1885, the Lighthouse Board recommended that a light and fog signal was needed because of the narrow and devious passages. Congress appropriated $35,000 for the lighthouse on August 4, 1886. During the design process, it was realized that the initial appropriation was not sufficient, and an additional $6,000 was obtained. Deer Island Light was built for about $50,000 in 1890, and replaced the unlighted beacon. Original construction consisted of a circular foundation pier, supporting a 3 story dwelling with a veranda, with boat davits. The cylindrical tower, 33 feet in diameter and 30 feet high, had a cast iron cylinder which was sunk 4’ into the bottom of the harbor. The lower portion of the cylinder was filled with concrete and it contained water cisterns. The upper part of the foundation was lined with a brick and served as a cellar. The cast iron superstructure built on top of the caisson had four levels between the lantern and basement, including living quarters. There was an iron spiral stairway, which led from the cellar to the top floor. It was painted a chocolate brown, except for the lantern, which was painted black. The lighthouse resembled a spark plug. The light was automated in 1960. On February 19, 1972, during a severe Nor'easter storm, the lighthouse brgan to tip, and the three keepers were ordered to abandon Deer Island Light. A Coast Guard Cutter was required to rescue the keepers. By the late 1970’s, it became apparent the light had deteriorated to the point of being unsafe. The Coast Guard estimated that repair and restoration would cost up to $400,000. The Massachusetts Historic Commission decided that Deer Island Light was not eligible for the National Register, so the way was cleared to destroy the old lighthouse. The fifth order Fresenl lens was replaced with a modern aerobeacon in 1982. The original fog bell was replaced with an automated fog horn. On June 14, 1982, the old abandoned cast iron lighthouse was removed. A 51 foot fiberglass tower replaced the old landmark, and was set on the original foundation. It resembled a matchstick set on the foundation. The tower was believed to be the first fiberglass light in the country. It was built in England and was designed to withstand winds of 110 mph. The new light cost $100,000. In March, 1983, Great Point Lighthouse on Nantucket was destroyed in a storm. The Coast Guard decided to replace it with a fiberglass tower, so they moved the Deer Island tower to Nantucket. The fiberglass tower was never actually put into use on Nantucket; a wooden structure was used instead. A 33 foot brown fiberglass tower replaced the white one at Deer Island Light. The temporary tower at Great Point was later replaced by a $1 million replica of the original lighthouse. The present Deer Island light looks more like a streetlight than a lighthouse. No more than a light on a fiberglass pole, it was built for utility, not beauty. This marker served as a navigational aid for nearly 60 years, and the current solar-powered automated light is operational as a U.S. Coast Active Aid to Navigation. Navy Direction Finding Station, Deer Island, MA 1941 1946 at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Deer Island, MA 1941 1946 =================================================================================== Destruction Island, Washington Destruction Island (also known historically as Green Island), is the only offshore island along Washington's outer coast. Destruction Island is situated about 3.5 miles miles from the mainland, about 50 miles south of Cape Flattery, in Jefferson County. Home to seabirds, shorebirds, and marine mammals, it is part of the Quillayute Needles National Wildlife Refuge. The lighthouse on Destruction Island was first lit on January 1, 1892. The lighthouse was one of two American lighthouses alerting mariners to the entrance to Puget Sound. The Strait of Juan de Fuca begins about 50 miles to the north. The 30-acre island and its lighthouse cab be seen from Highway 101 West, on the stretch between Kalaoch and Ruby Beach. The other was the Cape Flattery Lighthouse, on Tatoosh Island, which commenced operation on December 28, 1857. The U.S. Lighthouse Board first reserved Destruction Island's 30 acres for lighthouse purposes on June 8, 1866, but the rocky islet's role in the maritime history of the Pacific Northwest began much earlier. Spanish Naval lieutenant Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, returning south in the Sonora from a voyage of exploration, passed the island about the day of Nuestra Senora de Dolores, or September 18, 1775. Destruction Island was used as an anchorage by Spanish ships in 1775. A crew of seven men was sent to the mainland to procure supplies of wood and water, but was massacred by the local Indians. The lieutenant recorded it on his expedition charts as Isla de Dolores (the Island of Sorrows). In 1787, Captain Charles William Barkley, an independent English fur trader, arrived on the Northwest coast in the bark Imperial Eagle, under the Austrian flag. Barkley sought to trade with Northwest Coast Indians for furs, which he could sell in China. Despite the seeming barrenness, the interior of 30-acre Destruction Island forms a broad, grassy terrace, one that generations of local Native Americans found well- suited to growing potatoes. Tribespeople often remained here during the warm weather months while they fished the surrounding waters. Captain Charles William Barkley brought with him his 17-year-old wife, Frances, who is said to have thus become the first white woman to visit the Northwest Coast. Barkley changed the registry of his ship, originally British, and her name, Loudoun, to circumvent the East India Company's monopoly on trade with China. Cruising south along the coast from Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island, Barkley anchored inside Bodega's Isla de Dolores, and sent a party to the mainland for wood and water. As the Imperial Eagle's boat neared the mouth of what is now the Hoh River, Indians who wanted their boat, ambushed it and murdered the crew, meeting the same fate as the Spaniards of 1775. Mate Miller, Purser Beal, and four seamen died. Barkley named the river Destruction River. Five years later, Royal Navy explorer Captain George Vancouver (1758-1798) applied Barkley's name for the river to Quadra's Isla de la Dolores, charting it as Destruction Island. The river was given its Indian name, the Hoh River. Destruction Island serves as a landfall light for transoceanic mariners seeking the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and, for coastwise shipping, as a warning of the rocks and ledges that extend as much as a mile offshore to the south. In 1882, the Lighthouse Board requested and eventually received an $85,000 appropriation to establish a first-order light and fog signal on Destruction Island. Lighthouse construction began in August 1888, after Congress appropriated an additional $10,000 for the project. Materials had to be brought ashore in small boats from a tender anchored in a cove near the construction site, and the tower, dwelling, and outbuildings took nearly three years to build. Workers first built a boat landing and derrick on the east side of the island, and then a marine railway from the landing to the lighthouse site, which faces the Pacific Ocean. When the first head keeper from the U.S. Lighthouse Service arrived in August, 1889, the lighthouse and fog signal building were still under construction. One main residence for the head keeper, and one for the assistant keepers, a cistern, and a barn were, however, complete. Building the 94-foot dressed stone lighthouse tower, sheathed in iron, began in October 1890. The tower sat on a sandstone base with massive masonry walls four feet thick on the lower levels tapering to 18 inches beneath the lantern house. The spiral staircase circled artistically upward 115 steps. Painted white except for the black lantern room at the top, it was ready for occupancy in November 1891. It was a laborious undertaking and the builders did a splendid job on the 94 foot masonry tower, which, because of its isolated location, was encased in iron plates. The Army Corps of Engineers supervised the building of the station for the Lighthouse Service, and when one considers the difficulty of water transport and the landing of materials in a spot tantamount to an obstacle course of riven rocks, the accomplishment is more readily appreciated. Visitors were almost nonexistent during the years the station was manned except for those on special missions. Some families dwelled on the island and made the best of their lot despite the isolation, separated by a 20 mile trip by water from LaPush. It was a hard but rewarding life for those who lived there, and it was a naturalist's paradise with an abundance of sea creatures and birds. The elements of weather were extremely harsh at times. According to a report in the 1930's, a fierce gale sent seas crashing up to the plateau of the island, doing some damage to the station outbuildings, and cracking some of the windows in the tower. Though there exists a rugged switchback trail from the landing, when the station was manned a derrick and boom with an attached box-like conveyance were employed for raising and lowering personnel and supplies. In an emergency, if something goes wrong at the lighthouse, maintenance crews can be flown in by helicopter, though occasionally Coast Guard motor lifeboats from the Quillayute station are used for the purpose. Automation came to the station in 1968, which left the place void of life for the first time in seven decades. Four keepers were originally attached, but when the Coast Guard manned the facility there was frequent rotation; some personnel had their wives reside on the island. The station mascot for several years was a small deer named Bambi. Typically, the head keeper had the help of two assistants. Those who were married were able to bring their families to the island. This created a small community that had its own school and could supplement government rations, brought out in periodic visits by a lighthouse tender, with island-grown vegetables and chickens plus milk, butter, and cream from cows kept on the island. In 1939, the U.S. Coast Guard absorbed the Lighthouse Service. Rotating Coast Guard personnel gradually replaced long-service keepers. Those assigned to Destruction Island spent six weeks on duty with intervals of two-and-one-half weeks on the mainland. To the peacetime routine of lighthouse operation, they added the wartime duty of watching for enemy ships and submarines that might approach the coast. Sentries at Destruction Island did not spot any Japanese submarines, though the Imperial Japanese Navy's undersea weapons are known to have operated off the Northwest coast. Not until sometime during World War II (1941-1945) did electricity come to the island and replace the oil-fired lamps and the clockwork mechanism with electric bulbs and a motor. At the end of World War II, Destruction Island Light returned to its peacetime routine. In 1963, the Coast Guard proposed closing down the light, but relented in the face of protests from mariners. In 1968, the light was automated, much to the relief of its lonely Coast Guard keepers. This eliminated the need to keep people on the island permanently and the last resident keepers departed in the early 1970s. In the twenty-first century, Destruction Island has partly returned to its eighteenth century ambience. Because it is a part of Olympic National Marine Sanctuary and a U.S. Fish and Wildlife reserve. Visitation to the island is restricted, in efforts to protect rare sea birds and sea mammals. The 1891 lighthouse and fog signal building remain, still serving as aids to navigation. So, too, do the marine railway, cart storage shed, and two small buildings formerly used for oil storage and now adapted to serve as quarters for visiting Coast Guard inspection teams. Most other structures that once served the now departed community of lighthouse keepers have been burned or demolished. The site is closed to the public. The island itself is accessible only by boat. Destruction Island, since resident personnel departed, has become somewhat like a ghostly plot in the ocean. The lawn is no longer mowed and weeds have grown up along all the cement walkways. The buildings not torn down are boarded up and the tramway rails are red with rust. The horn-billed auklets are back in large numbers living in harmony with the gulls, and the bracken and salmon berries are growing. Except for the buildings, it is almost like it was when the natives paddled out in ancient times to plant potatoes, gather berries, collect bird eggs and feast on mussels-almost as though time has stood still. Navy Direction Finding Station, Destruction Island, WA 10 Feb 1925 at U.S. Naval Radio Station =================================================================================== DeTour Point, Upper Peninsula, DeTour Village, Michigan DeTour Reef, Upper Peninsula, DeTour Village, Michigan DeTour Village is a cozy town settled at the far eastern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, located in Chippewa County. Detour Village is located NE of the Mackinac Bridge at the Straits of DeTour Passage, where the St. Mary's River joins Lake Huron. DeTour Village is surrounded on three sides by water, Lake Huron, the St. Mary's River and DeTour Passage. Drummond Island is only one mile across the river from DeTour and is the third largest freshwater island in the world. During the early days, commerce was by water and all traffic came past DeTour going to and from Mackinac Island and Detroit to the Sault, Lake Superior and Canada. Since ships and canoes made a turn to go west to Mackinac or southeast to Detroit, the name DeTour was given which means, in French, "the turn", after the turning point for the St. Mary's River, Lake Superior, and the Lake Michigan - Lake Huron shipping industry. Some of the early European explorers included Father Marquette, Louis Joliet, Antoine De La Cadillac and Sieur De La Salle. The St. Mary's River has always been a strategic point for trade and travel. In early days, Fort Drummond and DeTour were the most important trading posts for the Chippewa Indians, who called DeTour "Giweeonaning", which means "point which we go around in a canoe". Originally, DeTour was named Warrenville, after the name of the first township postmaster, Ebenezer Warren, in 1848. DeTour Township was officially organized on March 28th, 1850. Its name was changed to DeTour Township on July 25, 1856, when Henry A. Williams became the area postmaster. DeTour was incorporated in March, 1899, and DeTour Township was incorporated. DeTour changed names to DeTour Village in 1961, to ease postal shipping confusion with Detroit. There are dozens of shipwrecks among the rocks and jetties that lie around DeTour dating back to 1862. This area has now been recognized as an Underwater Preservation Area for divers. Early sailing vessels were guided from Lake Huron into the mouth of the St. Marys River by beacons located on shore. The lighthouse was located on the Upper Michigan mainland, near DeTour Village, in Chippewa County a sprit of land known as DeTour Point. The lighthouse was established on April 13, 1847, with the land being acquired by presidential set aside. The buildings were constructed in the same year. However, the light was not lit until 1848. Apparently, by the time the construction on the lighthouse was completed, it was too late in the year to fit the light and employ the keeper. The original structure was described as a white stone tower approximately 65 feet high with a five room, one and a half story house. There are no known photographs or drawings of the original structures. In 1855, the first State Lock opened at Sault Ste. Marie. Following the opening of the first U.S. Soo Lock, marine traffic increased at a rapid rate. The first lighthouse was replaced in 1861, by a skeletal tower lighthouse similar to the Manitou Island Light and the Whitefish Point Light. This second lighthouse was also located on DeTour Point. Also in 1861, the keeper's quarter structure was renovated and added on to. It is currently a private residence. The property was purchased by Mike Noyes many years ago and, other than a few modernization improvements, it is still the same as the DeTour Point Light keeper's quarters. The tower and lantern were moved to the offshore lighthouse (DeTour Reef Light) in 1931. Since the light is not there, it probably is not considered a "lighthouse" although several of the old 1861 buildings (oil house, outhouse, etc) are still standing. Mr. Noyes did not change much on the spacious grounds, which is about 3/4 of a mile from the offshore DeTour Reef Light. As commercial traffic continued to increase and vessels of deeper draft became more common, the area of shallow water known as Detour Reef became a concern to vessel masters. The reef, located about a mile off DeTour Point, is only covered by 20 feet of water. By the 1920’s as many as 70 vessels per day were traversing the region. A new lighthouse was needed to make the shoal and the entrance to the St. Marys River. With Northbound vessel passage into the St. Mary's River increasing with the construction of the Sault Locks, ta new lighthouse was built in 1931, on DeTour Reef, making it one of the last lights to be constructed in all the Great Lakes. DeTour Reef is located 1 mile off-shore at the mouth of the St. Mary's River in northern Lake Huron, between DeTour Village and Drummond Island in the far Eastern Upper Peninsula. Constructed on a crib in a manner similar to that employed at Spectacle Reef, the Art Deco style tower was constructed of steel reinforced concrete. Beginning in the 1870's, crib foundation construction was used extensively for lighthouses on the Great Lakes. The DeTour Reef Light is one of these examples. Wooden cribs were constructed ashore, and then towed to the site and filled with stone. Once the crib had settled to the bottom, it was capped with concrete or some other masonry. Often, once the crib had settled, it was necessary to level the structure by adding weight to one side or another. Perched atop the sixty-three foot tower, the third and a half order Fresnel lens, which was relocated from the old DeTour Point light station, was visible from far out into Lake Huron, serving well to guide vessels into the St. Mary's River. Although built on a crib, positioned on a reef, the light station is located more than a mile from the nearest land, is completely surrounded by water, and can only be reached by boat. There is no island surrounding the lighthouse. Construction of the concrete foundation is very similar to the Martin Reef Light, which is located about 10 miles to the west of DeTour, and Poe Reef Light located near Cheboygan. All three stations were built by the same crew at about the same time. The light was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, after the commercial bids received by the U.S. Lighthouse Service were determined to be unsatisfactory. The Corps completed the structure in 327 working days with a budget of $141,000. The concrete foundation is 60 feet square and 20 feet above the water. The first story of the light station is a steel framed structure measuring 31 feet square. The tower portion is 12 feet square and supports a 10-sided watch room and lantern room. The total height is 63 feet to the top of the ventilator ball. The spiral staircase, lantern room and lens were relocated from the 1861 light to the present lighthouse during construction in 1931. The original third-and-a-half order Fresnel lens with four flash panels was made in 1908 by Barbier, Benard & Turenne of Paris. The lens rotated every 40 seconds and produced a 10 second interval between flashes and was visible up to 17 miles away. Part of the original clockwork mechanism remains in the lighthouse. Equipped with a four hundred and seventy-five pound air-powered diaphone fog signal, the keepers on the light kept a close eye on conditions, and used the fog signal to inform mariners of weather conditions both in the lake and the river. The present DeTour Reef Lighthouse has been guiding vessels into the mouth of the St. Marys River since 1931. Often called the ‘Gateway to Lake Superior’, this important lighthouse has been a welcome beacon to commercial and pleasure craft alike as they seek to make the passage between Lake Huron and Lake Superior via the Soo Locks. With automation in 1974, the Coast Guard removed the Fresnel lens from the lantern and boarded-up the windows, basically abandoning the structure, focusing their limited resources on maintaining the automated light. Without the daily attention of keepers, the station began to deteriorate rapidly. The lighthouse was declared to be excess property by the Coast Guard and the Federal Government in 1997. In the mid 1980's DeTour Passage became the new home to a first rate marina built and operated by the Department of Natural Resources, It is the second largest in the state. Fearing for the long-term survivability of the light station, a group of concerned citizens banded together in 1998, and formed the non-profit DeTour Reef Light Preservation Society, with its single purpose being the restoration of the light structure to its original 1931 condition, and to ensure its future survival. On September 5, 2000, the DeTour Reef Light Preservation Society obtained a 20 year lease on the lighthouse structure, from the U.S. Coast Guard. Major interior and exterior restoration was completed on the lighthouse in 2004. Since 2005, the Society offers boat tours to the lighthouse. Future work includes rebuilding a second deck crane, construction of a tour boat landing dock and access stairway to better facilitate public tours of the lighthouse, creating interpretive signs, and development of an onshore visitor's center. The third and one half order Fresnel lens from the lighthouse, is currently on display at the DeTour Passage Historical Museum, near the Drummond Island ferry dock, in DeTour Village, MI. The Fresnel had been removed by a Coast Guard crew in 1988, and transported to Mackinaw City for storage. Thereafter, its location became unknown. In the early 1990's, the President of the DeTour Reef Light Preservation Society, discovered the lamp in a number of wooden crates in an unlocked garage in Mackinaw City, while searching for something else. After many interactions with the Coast Guard Ninth District Command, the Society obtained permission to display the lens in a specially constructed display case. U.S. Navy Radio Compass Station, DeTour Point, MI Navy Direction Finding Station, DeTour Point, MI at U.S. Naval Radio Station, DeTour Point, MI =================================================================================== Dutch Harbor, Unalaska Island, Alaska Located near the very end of the Aleutian Island chain, Unalaska is a small city in the Aleutians West Area of state of Alaska. The city of Unalaska is located on the northern end of Unalaska Island, the second largest island in the Aleutian Chain; and neighboring Amaknak Island off coast of mainland Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 4,347. Almost all of the community's port facilities are on Amaknak Island, better known as Dutch Harbor or just "Dutch". Dutch Harbor lies within the city limits of Unalaska and the two islands are connected by a 500-foot bridge. Unalaska is approximately 800 air miles southwest of Anchorage. Amaknak Island is home to almost 59 percent of the city's population, although it has less than 3 percent of its land area. Unalaska lacks trees, but the island is covered with heather and wildflowers. The Unangan (or Aleut) people were the first to inhabit the island of Unalaska which they named "Ounalashka" meaning ‘Near the Peninsula’. The Aleut or Unangan have lived on Unalaska Island for thousands of years. They developed an intricate and complex society long before the first contact with Russian fur traders, who documented their existence. Artifacts, stories, and re-creations of their rich culture can be viewed and studied at the Museum of the Aleutians with many artifacts dating back almost 9,000 years. The Russian fur trade reached Unalaska when Stepan Glotov and his crew arrived on August 1, 1759. The First Russian party under Glotov spent three years trading on Umnak and Unalaska. Unalaska and Amaknak Islands contained 24 settlements with more than 1,000 Aleut inhabitants in 1759. In 1768, Unalaska became a Russian trading port for the fur seal industry, which was eventually monopolized by the Russian-American Company in 1796-1799. The first Permanent Russian settlement was established at Unalaska in 1772-1775. The name "Unalaska" is likely an Americanization of the Unangan name "Ounalashka" (as pronounced by the Russians). It was there that Captain James Cook encountered the navigator Gerasim Izmailov in October, 1778. Between 1830 and 1840, only 200 to 400 Aleuts lived in Unalaska. Dutch Harbor was so named by the Russians because they believed that a Dutch vessel was the first European ship to enter the harbor. On August 5, 1788, Spain claimed Unalaska and named it "Puerto de Dona Marie Luisa Teresa." On October 18, 1867, Alaska was purchased from the Russians by the United States. During the period 1899-1905, the Nome gold rush brought many ships through Dutch Harbor where the North American Commercial Company had a coaling station. In August, 1940, the U.S. Navy appropriated Dutch Harbor, to defend against Japanese attack. Dutch Harbor was the only land in North America, besides Pearl Harbor, that was bombed by Japanese zeros during World War II. On April, 15, 1942, a Submarine Bases was established at Dutch Harbor. On June 3, 1942, Japanese carrier-based aircraft attaced Dutch Harbor, located east of Adak, near the mainland, and occupied the Aleutian Islands of Attu and Kiska, located to the west of Adak. In July, 1942, Almost all of the Aleut native resident people were removed from the island, and sent to Southeast Alaska for the duration of the war. They did not until April, 1945. Evidence of the Armed Forces' bunkers, Quonset huts, and barracks are still visible today, dotting the green hills of Unalaska and Amaknak Islands. In preparation for a major offensive on the Japanese occupied islands of Kiska and Attu, as many of 90,000 troops on ship or shore were mobilized to the Aleutian arena. U.S. Army and U.S. Navy forces mounted a successful offensive, and the islands of Kiska and Attu were returned to U.S. control. On July 20, 1942, U.S. Naval Operating Base and Naval Air Facility, Dutch Harbor, Alaska, were established. The U.S. Navy pulled out of Dutch Harbor in 1947. The officers statuioned on Dutch Harbor enjoyed all the comforts and conveniences of home, in large well furnished houses. The Chief Petty Officers had comfortable and modern rooms, and the enlisted personnel occupied modern barracks. The officers belonged to the Naval Operating Base Officers' Mess at Dutch Harbor and enjoyed the mess facilities and the enlisted personnel had adequate meals served at the Station Mess Hall. Recreational facilities were available at this base for both officers and enlisted men. These facilities consisted of a spacious gymnasium, an excellent Ship's Service, bowling alleys, enlisted men's beer hall and other facilities. In other words, this base offered every facility that was possible at an overseas base and the morale of all personnel was very high. Founded on July 4, 1973, the regional native corporation adopted the Ounalashka name, and is known as the Ounalashka Corporation. In 1978, Unalaska/Dutch Harbor was declared the #1 fishing port in the nation, due to King Crab fishing. In 1980, a World-class container crane was erected at the American President Lines. The Port at Dutch Harbor became an International shipping center. During 1982-1985, Unalaska became a staging area for exploratory oil drilling in the Bering Sea. Commencing in 1989, Dutch Harbor became Alaska's Factory Trawler base. This booming community boasts the most productive seafood processing port in the U.S., with five large processing facilities and fishing ships from countries throughout the world. Local shore fish plants process approximately 2 million pounds of product per day. Many remnants and remembrances of military presence throughout the island, are part of a unique unit of the national park system. The WWII Historical Center is part of the WWII National Historic Area opened by the National Park Service in 2002. Naval Supplementary Radio Station (DF) Dutch Harbor, AK 1937 Jul 1943 Moved to Otter Point, Umnak, AK =================================================================================== Eagle Harbor, Upper Peninsula, Michigan The unincorporated community of Eagle Harbor is located in the Eagle Harbor Township along Lake Superior, 13 miles west of Copper Harbor, in Keweenaw (Key-win-awe) County. Eagle Harbor, Michigan is a model of small-town America at the very top of Michigan's upper peninsula. It has one gas station (with one gas pump), two motels, and 47 permanent residents. As of the 2000 census, the Eagle Harbor Township population was 281. The irregularly-shaped township is located on the Keweenaw Peninsula and also includes the southern half of Isle Royale. Keweenaw County is part of the Houghton, Michigan Micropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the population was 2,301. Keweenaw County is Michigan's northernmost county, and it is the least populous county in Michigan. The county seat is Eagle River. The county comprises the upper half of the Keweenaw Peninsula, on the finger of land that protrudes out into Lake Superior. Eagle Harbor was located in Houghton County until Keweenaw County was organized in 1861. Copper mining was a major industry, as well as commercial fishing, lumbering and maritime shipping. The village of Eagle Harbor was founded in 1845 and named after the Eagle Harbor Mining Company, also founded in 1845, which used the natural harbor for their base of supply. Edward Taylor, the first settler, was the first to realize the commercial potential of Eagle Harbor, building a short timber pier and a log warehouse on the bay in 1844, from which to supply the growing number of miners in the area. Eagle Harbor is now a quaint harbor town, but was a boom town in the early history of the Upper Peninsula. Everything was shipped into Eagle Harbor by boat as there were no roads. Supplies, settlers, and prospectors came in by boat and copper was shipped out from the Eagle Harbor, Central, Delaware, Copper Falls and other mines. The red brick Eagle Harbor Lighthouse sits on the rocky entrance to the harbor and is a working lighthouse as it still guides mariners across the northern edge of the Keweenaw Peninsula. Congress passed an appropriation of $4,000 for the construction of a Light at Eagle Harbor on March 3, 1849. Construction began on the western point of Eagle Harbor in 1850. The original lighthouse was completed in 1851. An 1868 inspection of the station found the building to be in critically deteriorating condition. The Lighthouse Board recommended an appropriation of $14,000 to allow a complete rebuilding of the station. Congress responded with the requested appropriation on July 15, 1870, and later that year contracts were awarded for supplying the building materials and iron work needed for the construction of the new station. With the delivery of a work crew and materials at Eagle Harbor on the opening of the 1871 navigation season, construction of the new station began. The first floor of the new lighthouse building was the lightkeeper's dwelling, which contained a parlor, kitchen and two bedrooms, and the second floor had two bedrooms and a closet. A 12-foot by 20-foot brick addition on the rear of the building served as a wood storage shed. Construction of the new lighthouse was completed in 1871, and the old structure was demolished to eliminate confusion to mariners on the lake. The U.S. Lifesaving Station Eagle Harbor, on the east point of the harbor about 1/2 mile east of the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse was conveyed in 1905. The station was built and established in 1912. The first keeper was appointed on July 29, 1912. On July 1, 1939, the U.S. Lighthouse Service was incorporated into the U.S Coast Guard, under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Treasury Department. The U.S. Coast Guard Station at Eagle Harbor was turned over to the GSA in 1954. The station building has recently been restored. Eagle Harbor was also one of the earliest locations on the Great Lakes to have a U.S. Navy Radio Compass transmitter established adjacent to the U.S. Lifesaving Station in 1918. Two buildings were erected by the Navy to house the equipment and operating crew assigned to the station. In 1929, a radio beacon transmitter was set up in the fog signal building and wired to an antenna to the west of the building. Just as each station had its own characteristic light and fog signal patterns, so each radio beacon emitted a repeated Morse code signal unique to that station. The Eagle Harbor radio beacon characteristic consisted of repeated groups of one dot and 3 dashes. By receiving the signals from two such transmitters simultaneously, and knowing the exact location of each signal, captains out on the lake could accurately triangulate their position. With the establishment of the radio beacon, the Navy Compass Station across the bay was rendered obsolete, and the Navy Compass Station was closed down in 1929. In 1930, the light was electrified. With the two buildings at the abandoned Radio Compass Station no longer serving any purpose, the decision was made to move one of the buildings across the bay to the light station, where it could be used as dwellings for the First and Second Assistant Keepers. To this end, the lighthouse tender Aspen arrived in the Harbor with a work crew and a barge in 1932. While part of the work crew prepared a new foundation for the structure at the light station, the remainder of the crew lifted the structure onto the barge and towed it across the bay. On arrival at the light station, the dwelling was carefully lifted ashore and hoisted into position on the awaiting foundation. During WWII, commercial fishermen on Lake Superior were exempt from the draft as they were essential for feeding the nation. Lake Superior fish are still a staple of the northern diet. In 1968, the original 4th order Fresnel Lens was replaced by a red and white aviation type beacon. After being tended by 21 keepers, over a 129-year history, the lighthouse became automated in 1980. The last keeper left the Eagle Harbor Light Station on January 8, 1982. Since 1982, the Keweenaw County Historical Society has maintained museums at the light station. In 1999, Congress transferred ownership of the Eagle Harbor Light Station and property, from the U.S. Coast Guard to the Keweenaw County Historical Society. The Coast Guard continues to operate the light at the top of the tower. The lighthouse is still standing, is furnished with period furnishings, and open to the public. The lighthouse property is now the site of the Historical Society museums. The fog signal building, which was built in 1895, now houses a Maritime Museum. The two assistant lightkeepers' dwellings now house a Commercial Fishing Museum and the Society archives. U.S. Navy Radio Compass Station, Eagle Harbor, MI 1918 1929 Navy Direction Finding Station, Eagle Harbor, MI 1918 1929 at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Eagle Harbor, MI =================================================================================== Empire, Oregon The former city of Empire City and later Empire, is located in northern Coos County on the Pacific Ocean coast of southwestern Oregon. In 1965, the city of Empire voted to consolidate with the city of Coos Bay. Empire is now a district of the city of Coos Bay, Oregon. Coos Bay is an S-shaped inlet, approximately 10 miles long and 2 miles wide. The city of Coos Bay was named Marshfield, established in the 1850s, and incorporated in 1874; until 1944, when residents voted to change the name to Coos Bay, to match the name of the Bay itself. The Port of Coos Bay, founded in 1909, is the largest and deepest port between San Francisco, California and the Columbia River. Coos Bay is considered the best natural harbor between San Francisco Bay and the Puget Sound and the Port of Coos Bay is the largest forest products shipper in world. The City of Coos Bay is now made up of various communities that once surrounded the Bay, the oldest of these being Empire City, which was once the Coos County seat. Another community which makes up Coos Bay, was until recent years the City of Eastside. Both Empire and Eastside became districts of Coos Bay. The prominence of these and other individual communities and districts within the City of Coos Bay give it a unique character not often found in a small town. Today Coos Bay is known throughout the world as a major exporter of wood products. It is the largest city on the Oregon Coast, and it is the professional and financial hub of the region. Although exploration and trapping in the area occurred as early as 1828, the first settlement, established at Empire City in 1853, came five years after the U.S. Congress created the Oregon Territory in 1848. The Territorial Legislature granted permission for the development of wagon roads from Coos Bay to Jacksonville in 1854, and to Roseburg in 1857. Although a mountainous county, it has considerable areas suitable for agriculture and dairy farming. Timber and fishing have been the foundation of the county's economy. The area also has produced large quantities of shellfish. One of the oldest businesses that Europeans and Americans in North America participated in, the fur trade steadily moved west as Euro-American culture moved west. From its beginnings, the fur trade involved the exchange of goods of European or Asian origin-such as iron tools, wool blankets and glass beads-by European traders for furs such as beaver, otter and fox, gathered by Native American hunters from the forests of North America. By the early nineteenth century two British companies dominated the business. The first was the London based Hudson's Bay Company, founded in 1670. The other great fur trade enterprise was the North West Company, whose employees are commonly called Nor'westers. This Canadian company was based in Montreal and worked primarily in the waters around the Great Lakes and to the south and west of them, although they had fur post all across North America. One of the lands the North West Company was interested in was the region west of the Rocky Mountains, an area that was known as the Oregon Country. The Oregon Country was bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Rocky Mountains on the east, by what is now the southern border of Oregon to the south, and by what is now the northern border of British Columbia to the north. From the 1780s to the early 1800s, fur traders and explorers for the North West Company began searching for routes to the west side of the Rocky Mountains. While initially unsuccessful, each exploration brought new information to light and opened more routes west. For an excellent article on the region, John Jacob Astor, and Fort Astoria; see "The War of 1812 and the Oregon Country" by Edward L. Reidell at the following link . Long before Euro-Americans settlements appeared in Empire, the area was occupied by Native Americans, and it was once the site of an ancient Indian Village. In 1826, fur trappers from the Hudson Bay Company were the first Euro-Americans to meet the local Indians. Native Americans and immigrant Oregonians began fighting in the 1840s. Oregon's provisional government passed the first militia law in 1843. But no organized militia formed until the 1847, when the Cayuse Indian attacked the Whitman Mission in what is now southeastern Washington. Tragically, the event illustrated the clash of cultures between Native Americans and early settlers to Oregon Country. The Native Americans were increasingly hostile, fearing that they would lose their land and way of life to the ever-growing numbers of whites. Tensions mounted when in 1847 an outbreak of measles ravaged the Cayuse people who lived near the Whitman mission. Whitman, both a missionary and a practicing physician, treated the sick but while white people seemed to recover, the Indian deaths continued. Finally, some of the Cayuse, acting on the belief that the doctor was "bad medicine," decided to kill him in an attempt to put an end to the sickness. In 1853, emigrant settlers arrived to found the City of Empire. The community was quickly established and became an economic and commercial center. The city was the seat of local county government for over 40 years, and it was southwest Oregon's link to the outside world. The Coos Bay area has been synonymous with boat traffic since its beginnings. In the early days, a mosquito fleet of small boats, ferries, and sternwheelers delivered people and services from ocean to inland communities on a daily basis. In the 1850's, logging, coal mining, agriculture, and ship building began in the region, providing the basis for developing communities. Empire City was founded in 1853 by members of the Coos Bay Company from Jacksonville. It was expected that the town would be center of the region. The company was formed after the discovery of gold in northern California and southwestern Oregon. The first post office in the location was called Elkhorn, which ran from 1853 until 1854. It was the first post office in what is now Coos County, though at the time it was part of Umpqua County. For a time, Empire City was the county seat of Coos County. In January, 1854, the Territorial Legislature established Empire City as the Coos County seat. In 1895, the legislature permitted the citizens of the county to choose a new county seat. The 1896 vote resulted in the designation of Coquille City as the new county seat. The first county courthouse was built in Empire City in 1854. The Empire City post office was established in 1858 and ran until 1894, when it was renamed Empire. Shortly thereafter, sailing ships became a common site on the waterfront. Logging was a bustling industry, and the Southern Oregon Improvement Center provided a variety of services and goods, which served as a universal marketing center. Later, in the 1850's entrepreneurs came from San Francisco. They were attracted by the accessible harbor and began shipping lumber, coal, domestic aid, and agricultural products. Due to the large volume of commodities, such as machinery, food, staples, and clothing; which found their way to the local farms, industries, and homes in the region; it became the site for the United States Collector of Customs for the Southern Oregon District. Territorial status brought Oregon arms for its arsenals and federal troops to assist in fighting future battles with Indians. Later, the state constitution of 1857 made the Governor commander in chief of the state's military and Naval forces. It also allowed the Governor to appoint an adjutant general, who oversaw the related administrative and logistical functions. Sadly, the Indian Wars continued sporadically until the late 1870s. Numerous skirmishes were punctuated by the Rogue River War in 1855-1856, the Modoc Campaign of 1872-1873, and the Bannock War of 1878. By that time, nearly all of the Native Americans in Oregon had been forced onto reservations. Later, in 1885, the city formally incorporated. Near the end of the 1800's, the city began to decline. The local lumber markets and mills closed. In 1896, the voters moved the county seat to Coquille. Today, very little is left of this historic area due to progress in the area. Most Oregonians led rural or small town lives on the eve of World War I, rarely leaving their farming, logging, fishing, or mining communities. In 1916 and 1917, Oregon National Guard soldiers saw service along the Mexican border as the U.S. mounted an armed expedition to Mexico, to end raids into U.S. territory by Mexican leader Pancho Villa. An Oregon National Guard recruitment card extolled the service as an opportunity of a lifetime. Recruits could get military training under "real war conditions, with the minimum of personal danger." Oregon men from 18 to 45 years of age qualified for service. They would earn from $15 to $45 per month "with all the necessities of life furnished, including medical attention - the pay is for your luxuries...." The reader was encouraged to "look this card over, but don't over look it." After all, "you will get a free trip of nearly 2000 miles to Southern California." World War I heated up Oregon's economy with demand for the production of ships, lumber, grain, and other materials. But in its wake, the state's economy faltered as farming slumped and orders to shipyards and lumber mills declined precipitously. Housing starts dropped, stock market speculation increased, banks grew more unsteady. Looking for brighter horizons, 50,000 Oregonians left the state after World War I. Naval Radio Compass Station, Empire, OR fl Jan 1927 Navy Direction Finding Station, Empire, OR Feb 1936 May 1941 =================================================================================== Eureka, California Eureka is the county seat and principal city in Humboldt County. Located adjacent to Humboldt Bay, the city is situated between extensive preserves of the world's tallest trees, the Coast Redwoods. This architecturally and historically significant coastal city serves as the regional center for government, health care, trade, and the Arts for the far North Coast of California. Eureka is located 280 miles north of San Francisco. The local North Peninsula is ten miles long and one mile wide between, the Pacific Ocean and Humboldt Bay. Beginning more than 150 years ago, miners, loggers, and fishermen began making their mark in this pristine wilderness of the California North Coast. Before that time, the area was already occupied by small groups of indigenous peoples. The Wiyot people lived in the area now known as Eureka for thousands of years prior to European arrival. They are the farthest-southwest people whose language has Algonquian roots. Their traditional coastal homeland ranged from the lower Mad River through Humboldt Bay and south along the lower basin of the Eel River. The Wiyot are particularly known for their basketry and fishery management. An extensive collection of highly evolved basketry of the areas indigenous groups exists in the Clarke Historical Museum in Old Town Eureka. European exploration of the coast of what would become northern California, beginning as early as 1579, repeatedly missed definitively locating Humboldt Bay. This was due to a combination of geographic features, often aided by weather conditions, which concealed the narrow entrance from view. Despite a well documented 1806 sighting by Russian explorers, the bay was not definitively known by Europeans until an 1849 overland exploration provided a reliable accounting of the exact location of what is now known as the second largest bay in California. The timing of this discovery would lead to the May 13, 1850 founding of the settlement of Eureka on its eastern shore by the Union and Mendocino Exploring (development) companies. The first Europeans venturing into Humboldt Bay encountered the indigenous Wiyot. Records of early forays into the bay reported that the violence of the local indigenous people made it nearly impossible for landing parties to survey the area. After 1850, Europeans ultimately overwhelmed the Wiyot, whose maximum population before the Europeans was in the hundreds and not the thousands. Settlers unconsciously and then deliberately cut off access to ancestral sources of food in addition to the outright taking of the land despite efforts of some U.S. Government and military officials to assist the native peoples or at least maintain peace. A tragic slaughter on Indian Island was committed by a group of locals in the spring of 1860. The chronicle of the behavior of European settlers toward the indigenous cultures locally and throughout America is present in surprising detail in the Fort Humboldt State Historic Park museum, on the southern edge of the city. Secondarily to the California Gold Rush in the Sierras, prospectors discovered gold in the nearby Trinity region (along the Trinity, Klamath, and Salmon Rivers). Because miners needed a convenient alternate to the tedious overland route from Sacramento, schooners and other vessels soon arrived on recently discovered Humboldt Bay. Though the ideal location on Humboldt Bay adjacent to naturally deeper shipping channels ultimately guaranteed Eureka's development as the primary city on the bay, Arcata's proximity to developing supply lines to inland gold mines ensured supremacy over Eureka through 1856. "Eureka" is a Greek word meaning "I have found it!" This exuberant statement of successful (or hopeful) California Gold Rush miners is also the official Motto of the State of California. Many of the first arrivals who arrived as prospectors were also lumbermen, and the vast potential for industry on the bay was soon realized, especially as many hopeful miners realized the difficulty and infrequency of striking it rich in the mines. By 1854, after only four years since the founding, seven of nine mills processing timber into marketable lumber on Humboldt Bay, were in Eureka. A year later, 140 lumber schooners operated in Humboldt Bay, supplying lumber to other booming cities along the Pacific coast. Rapid growth of the lumber industry, depletion of forests located in close proximity to Humboldt Bay and technological advances, led to the development of dozens of local, narrow gauge railroads to move the giant trees to dozens of lumber mills on Humboldt Bay. A bustling commercial district and ornate Victorians rose in proximity to the waterfront, reflecting the great prosperity experienced during this era. Hundreds of these Victorian homes remain today, of which many are totally restored and a few have always remained in their original elegance and splendor. The representation of these homes in Eureka grouped with those in nearby Arcata and the Victorian village of Ferndale are of considerable importance to the overall development of Victorian architecture built in the nation. Old Town Eureka, the original downtown center of this busy city in the 19th Century, has been restored and has become a lively arts center. The Old Town area has been declared an Historic District by the National Register of Historic Places. This nexus of culture behind the redwood curtain still contains much of its Victorian architecture, which, if not maintained as homes, have been transformed into scores of unique lodgings, restaurants, and small shops featuring a burgeoning cottage industry of hand-made creations from glass ware to wood burning stoves and a large variety of art created locally. Eureka's founding and livelihood was and remains linked to Humboldt Bay, the Pacific Ocean, and related industries, especially fishing. Salmon fisheries sprang up along the Eel River as early as 1851, and within seven years, 2,000 barrels of cured fish and 50,000 pounds of smoked salmon were processed and shipped out of Humboldt Bay annually, primarily from processing plants on Eureka's waterfront, which exist to this day. By 1858, the first of many ships built in Eureka was launched, beginning an industry that spanned scores of years. The bay is also the site of one of the west coast's largest Oyster farming operations, which began its commercial status in the nineteenth century. The Bay remains the home port to more than 200 fishing boats in two modern marinas which can berth at least 400 boats within the city limits of Eureka. In addition to ethnic conflict with the native and Wiyot peoples, some Eurekans joined the statewide response to the increasing Chinese presence in the 1880s. Californians led the nation in the xenophobic response to the perceived large numbers of Chinese immigrants, which ultimately led to the US Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 (forms of this law remained in the US Code until 1943). Economic downturns and resulting competition for jobs especially led some citizens of European descent to commit sometimes violent racist actions, especially on the Pacific coast. In February 1885, the racial tension in Eureka broke when a member of two rival Chinese gangs (tongs) accidentally shot and killed a Eureka City Councilman in the crossfire between the two opposing gangs. This led to the convening of an angry mob of 600 Eurekans and resulted the forcible, permanent expulsion of all 300 Chinese residents of Eureka's Chinatown (a one block area). The Chinese did not return to Eureka until the 1950s. In 1914 the first major, reliable land route was established between San Francisco and Eureka, with the opening of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad, connecting Eureka through Willits, California to the northern shore of San Francisco Bay. With passenger rail service from San Francisco to the bustling Redwood Empire, Eureka's population of 7,300 swelled to 15,000 within ten years. By 1922, the Redwood Highway was completed, providing for the first reliable, direct overland route for automobiles from San Francisco. Eureka's transportation connection to the "outside" world had changed dramatically after more than half a century of uncomfortable stage rides (which could take weeks in winter) or treacherous steamship passage through the infamous Humboldt Bar and on the rarely pacified Pacific Ocean to San Francisco. The greatest symbol of this advance was the opening of the Eureka Inn, which coincided with the opening of the new road to "Frisco" (a favorite local nickname for San Francisco). The hotel, still one of the largest lodging properties in the region, provided quality accommodations and amenities for travelers in a style unsurpassed for its day and for the decades to come. As a result of immense civic pride during this era of expansion, Eureka officially named itself "Queen City of the Ultimate West." The tourism industry, lodging to support it, and related marketing had been born. The community of Samoa is located on the peninsula and in 1878, a U.S. Life Saving Station was built nearby. The U.S. Coast Guard took over the station in 1915. Eugene Ely conducted the first landing on a warship, the USS Pennsylvania, in San Francisco Bay on January 18, 1911. In May, Ely and his aircraft arrived in Humboldt Bay on a steam boat and held a flying exhibition with a Curtiss pusher aircraft on the peninsula. Two weeks after Pearl Harbor, a Japanese submarine torpedoed the tanker Emidio just south of the Bay. This act abruptly brought the distant war to the area. In a few weeks, an activated Mississippi National Guard cavalry unit arrived with caissons and horse drawn equipment. The Guard set up camp in the buildings of an old lumber mill and later received motorized equipment. Before the Guard departed, it had been joined on the peninsula by an increased Coast Guard complement of 80 men that patrolled the beaches. The Humboldt Bay area became a strategically important area with the only harbor and airfield along the mountainous coast of Northern California. The Army began operating antisubmarine patrols out of Murray Field, a grass field northeast of Eureka. The Navy built a section base near the Coast Guard station and a small seaplane facilty at the Samoa boat basin with a wooden seaplane ramp. Fleet Air Wing 8 Headquarters Squadron 3 operated three Vought OS2U Kingfishers from here during the winter of 1942-1943. The seaplane facility never commissioned. The Navy then built a blimp base nearby, commissioning Naval Auxiliary Air Facility (NAAF) Eureka on August 6, 1943, as an auxiliary of Moffett Field. Moffett's ZP-32 then maintained a detachment of one to two K-ships at the facility, except in the dead of winter. Operations were further complicated by the fact that Humboldt Bay had some of the foggiest weather in the U.S. Meanwhile, NAAS Arcata, a heavier-than-air station, was built 10 miles north of Eureka and commissioned in July, 1943. In March, 1944, NAAF Eureka had a complement of 19 officers and 72 enlisted men, with barracks for 50 officers and 441 men. The base's 429 acres had a 700 x 1400 foot paved blimp operating mat with two mooring circles and a 2400 x 200 foot asphalt runway over the mat. Kingfisher scouting aircraft continued to operate from the seaplane base throughout the war and a taxiway was eventually built to the airfield for use by amphibian aircraft. The Navy closed NAAF Eureka on October 15, 1945. Following the war, the airfield became the Eureka Municipal Airport and remains so to this day. In 1995, the former BOQ had been converted to a bed and breakfast establishment. Army records from World War II suggest that this facility may have also served as an auxiliary field for Hamilton Field in San Rafael. The timber industry declined along with Pacific Northwest fisheries steadily since the 1950s. Overcutting and overfishing, increased regulation, and the creation of more parkland to preserve the remnants of once extensive virgin forests, rivers, and fisheries led to diminished profits and massive layoffs of blue collared mill workers and fisherman, beginning in earnest by the 1970s. Automation of remaining consolidated milling operations and competition from other timber markets outside the nation only hastened the process of decline in the number of jobs available in logging and related industries. The challenges resulting from this economic and resulting social upheaval were significant in the lives of many Eureka and North Coast residents. However, both the local fishing industry and the timber industry still figure large in the local and state economy, though in diminished form from the past. For the region, Eureka remains the center for commerce and healthcare. Eureka's full service airport is the Arcata-Eureka Airport, located 15 miles north in McKinleyville. Murray Field, a general aviation airport for private and charter air service, is located within the northern city limit of Eureka djacent Humboldt Bay. Ten miles southeast of Eureka, Kneeland Airport, also a general aviation airport at 2,737 ft (834.2 m) elevation, provides an option for pilots choosing to avoid the prevalent marine layer at airports closer to sea level. Coast Guard Air Station Humboldt Bay was commissioned on June 24, 1977 at the Arcata-Eureka Airport in McKinleyville, California. This completed a multi-year initiative by local residents to gain a year-round aviation search and rescue (SAR) facility for Northern California. Prior to 1977, an aviation detachment from Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco provided air coverage during the summer season, but the response time of over two hours was not fast enough for victims to survive in the 40-50 degree water commonly found along the north coast. Originally named Air Station Arcata, the Air Station was redesignated to its current name in May 1982. The new $3.5 million facility also relocated boat station support offices from nearby Samoa to establish centralized command and control over all Coast Guard assets in the area. Due to its unique coastal airport location, the facility combines two Coast Guard functions into a single facility; combining multiple boat stations along a few hundred miles of coastline, with a Coast Guard Air Station. Air Station Humboldt Bay is one of just a few such combined facilities in the Coast Guard. Capabilities include 3 helicopters, 2 patrol boats, and 4 motor lifeboats. An Aids to Navigation Team and a Marine Safety Detachment also serve the region. Twenty-two officers and over 170 enlisted personnel operate these various facilities located at Cresecent City, McKinleyville, Samoa, Eureka, and Fort Bragg, California. The Humboldt Bay Harbor Recreation & Conservation District manages the resources of Humboldt Bay and its environs, including the deep water port. The port is located directly west of the city and is serviced across the bay in the community of Samoa. In addition to two deep water channel docks for large ships, several modern small craft marinas are available for private use, with a total capacity of more than 400 boats. Navy Direction Finding Station, Eureka, CA 1943 1945 at Naval Radio Station (NAVRADSTA) (DF), Eureka, CA at Naval Auxiliary Air Facility, Eureka, CA ================================================================================== Exmouth Gulf, Northwest Cape, Western Australia Town of Exmouth Exmouth is a town located on the tip of the North West Cape, at a Gulf inlet of the sea, in northwestern Western Australia. The town is located 1270 kilometers north of the state capital Perth and 3366 kilometers southwest of Darwin. The modern settlement of Exmouth can be dated from May, 1963; when the Australian and U.S. governments agreed to establish the $66 million U.S. Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt at North West Cape. This single event created the town. The town was established in 1964, and supported the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base at Learmonth, as well as nearby NAVCOMMSTA Harold E. Holt. >From its earliest days it was always a military town. The town was gazetted in 1963 and its first two Civil Commissioners were Colonel K. Murdoch and Air Commodore T. Walters. In 1964 there were only four permanent houses in the town. Most of the population lived in the Burtenshaw Caravan Park. The town and the Naval Communication Station were both opened on September 16, 1967. The population of the town peaked at around 4300 in the late 1960s. Today there are less than 3000 people living in the town, of whom about 25 per cent are retired American service personnel and their families. Nowadays the town relies more on tourism than the Naval station for its existence. Exmouth is a small town with a normal population of approximatel 3000. During the cool winter months (June through August) however, the population can swell to nearly 6,000 with the arrival of tourists drawn to the North West Cape by the refreshing temperatures and the natural beauty of the area. Exmouth Gulf Exmouth Gulf was named by Commander Phillip Parker King of the British Royal Navy (RN) on HMS Mermaid during hydrographic surveys in the area in 1818. The name honors the Viscount Exmouth, Edward Pellew. Edward Pellew was born in Dover, England in 1757 and died in 1833. He had a very distinguished career in the Navy, and was regarded as British Naval hero. Pellew entered the Royal Navy at 13 years of age, was appointed Lieutenant in 1778 and received his commision as post Captain in 1780. In 1793 he received a knighthood for his heroic conduct in capturing the "Cleopatra", a French frigate. Three years later he was created a Baronet for his heroic services in saving the troops and crew of the British transport "Dutton". In 1804, he was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral. In 1814, having risen to the rank of Admiral of the Blue, he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Exmouth of Canonteign, County Devon; and, finally, was advanced to a Viscountcy in 1816 for his gallantry in bombarding and totally destroying the fleet and arsenal of Algiers in that year. Allied Air Base at Exmouth Gulf In late 1942, the U.S. Navy asked the Australian Government for permission to build an airfield near the future Submarine base at Exmouth Gulf. The site for the airfield was selected at Yanrey, 20 miles south of Exmouth. The site was later to be named Learmonth Airfield. While the airfield was being constructed, 76 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) moved to nearby Onslow in February, 1943, and then to Exmouth Gulf in March, 1943. 76 Squadron was ordered back to Bankstown in April, 1943. The Submarine Tender, USS Pelius, spent some time at Exmouth Gulf, tending submarines that used the Operational Base Unit at Exmouth Gulf as a temporary base. The Allied Air Base at Exmouth Gulf, nicknamed 'Potshot' by the Americans, operated between 1942 and 1945. The mission of the base was code-named "Operation Potshot". U.S. submarines used the 'Potshot' area as an advance base and refuelling station, enroute Japanese controlled targets and occupied territories, where they took 'Potshots' at the Japanese. Australian personnel operated the early warning radar stations, using British GLll radar equipped, and provided protection using Australian 3 inch and 3.7 inch anti-aircraft batteries. In addition, a strong contingent of U.S. Navy personnel equipped with land based Bofors guns provided additional landbased support. The RAAF provided fighter cover for the U.S. submarines, using the extended fighter air strip at Yanrey. The complement of the Exmouth Gulf Allied Air Base included two Australian fighter squadrons, several squadrons of U.S. Navy Catalina PBY flying boats (based at the Bay of Rest), the USS Pelius sub tender and a U.S. Naval force of small fighting ships. Operation Jaywick, in which allied forces attacked Singapore Harbor in 1943, departed from Exmouth Gulf. Operation Jaywick was one of the most daring and celebrated special operations undertaken in World War II. In September, 1943, 15 Allied commandos from "Z Force" raided Japanese shipping in Singapore Harbor, sinking seven ships. Z Force was an allied commando "Z Special Unit" comprised of specially trained in infiltration techniques, Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy (RAN), British Army and British Royal Navy (RN) personnel; commonly known as Z Force. The Operation Jaywick commando force was comprised of four British and eleven Australian personnel, The Commandos travelled to the occupied Singapore harbor in a vessel disguised as an Asian fishing boat. After a relatively uneventful voyage, they arrived off Singapore on September 24, 1943. That night six men left the boat and paddled 50 kilometers to establish a forward base in a cave on a small island near the harbor. On the night of September 26, 1943, they paddled into the harbor in collapsible canoes and placed limpet mines explosive device designed to cling magnetically to the hull of a ship) on several Japanese ships before returning to their hiding spot. Evacuating the area, they returned almost uneventfully, to to Australia, except for a tense incident in the Lombok Strait, when the ship was closely approached by a Japanese patrol boat; however the fishing boat was not challenged. On October 19, 1943, the ship and crew arrived safely back at Exmouth Gulf. Exmouth Gulf was bombed by Japanese "Betties" on several occasions. After two Japanese raids on Exmouth Gulf on 20 and 21 May 1943, the U.S. Navy decided to abandon the Submarine Base at Exmouth Gulf, and moved down to Fremantle in 1945. The base was also struck by a tropical cyclone, which hit the coast during that time frame and damaged the facility. The RAAF maintained their airfield at Yanrey after the U.S. Navy departed the area, later redesignated as RAAF Learmonth. RAAF Learmonth The Exmouth airport, which is so long and wide it can handle any size jet, is located about 35 kilometers outside the town. It is on the site of the old airstrip, at Yanrey, built by the Allies during World War II. Learmonth Airfield was named after Wing Commander Charles C. Learmonth, who was the Commanding Officer of No. 22 Squadron (Bostons), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), based at Vivigani Airfield, Goodenough Island (nearest cities: Port Moresby and Milne Bay). He was later appointed Commanding Officer of No. 14 Squadron at Pearce. He was killed in during a training flight accident off Rottnest Island, on January 6, 1944, when his Beaufort A9-480 bomber aircraft crashed into the sea near Pearce, off Perth, Australia. RAAF Learmonth is one of the RAAF's three 'bare bases' (see below), no Royal Australian Air Force units are currently based at Learmonth and it is maintained by a small caretaker staff during peacetime. NAVCOMMSTA Harold E. Holt In 1963, the U.S. leased an area of North West Cape, Exmouth, Western Australia, for the establishment of a VLF Communications Station, as part of its world wide nuclear submarine force communications network. It was subsequently named the U.S. Navy Communications Base Harold E. Holt, named after the former Prime Minister of Australia, who mysteriously drowned while he was in office. In 1972, U.S. NAVCOMMSTA Harold E. Holt became a joint facility, with a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) officer as second in command, and 35 RAN personnel integrated into the general operations of the base. The H. E. Holt Naval Base is situated on the remote and rugged North West Cape of Western Australia, between the Indian Ocean and Exmouth Gulf. The nearest major city is Perth, the Western Australia state capital, which is located over 780 miles to the south. NSG Dept, U.S. Naval Communicatons Station (NCS) Harold E. Holt, North West Cape, was commissioned on September 16, 1967; and closed in October, 1992. After the U.S. Navy departed in the early 1190's, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) assumed full ownership of the base. Parts of the old Naval base are still in use by RAN operational units. RAAF Bare Bases The Royal Australian Air Force currently maintains three Bare Bases in remote areas of Northern Australia. These bases were developed in the 1980s and 1990s in line with the Defence of Australia Policy in order to enhance the RAAF's ability to conduct combat operations from the Australian mainland. As front line bases, the 'Bare Bases' are well provisioned with bunkers and other defensive facilities and have the capability to support the RAAF's F/A-18 Hornets and F-111 aircraft during wartime. During peacetime the Bare Bases are maintained by a small caretaker staff drawn from the No. 322 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron. Flying and support units are not permanently stationed at 'Bare Bases'. The bases are, however, regularly activated during exercises with flying and support units deploying from other RAAF bases to staff the base for the duration of the exercise. The three bare bases are RAAF Scherger near Weipa, Queensland; RAAF Curtin near Derby, Western Australia; and RAAF Learmonth near Exmouth, Western Australia. RAAF Tindal near Katherine, Northern Territory, was maintained as a Bare Base for a number of years before being upgraded in 1988 to a permanent operational base for No. 75 Squadron's F/A-18s. The Cape Range National Park which has some spectacular gorges is an area of 506 square kilometers and its main area is focused on the west coast of the Cape, which provides a large variety of camp sites on the coastal fringe of the Park. On March 22, 1999, Tropical Cyclone Vance reached category 5 status as it made landfall near Exmouth. This resulted in the highest ever wind gust reported on the Australian mainland of 267 kilometers per hour at Learmonth, only 35 kilometers to the south. Vance caused significant flooding and property damage but there were no deaths. Navy Direction Finding Station, Allied Air Base, May 1943 Nov 1944 Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia =================================================================================== Farallon Islands, California The Farallon Islands are a group of islands and rocks found in the Gulf of the Farallones, off the coast of San Francisco, CA. They lie 27 miles outside the Golden Gate, 20 miles south of Point Reyes, and mark the approach to the San Francisco Bay. They are visible from the mainland on clear days. The islands are officially part of the City and County of San Francisco. The Farallon Islands are outcroppings of the Salinian Block, a vast geologic province of granitic continental crust sharing its origins with the core of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The block was torn off the North American continent far to the south and rifted north by the San Andreas Fault which lies to the east of the islands. Other nearby examples of the Salinian Block include the Point Reyes Peninsula and Bodega Head. The islands were long known to the American Indians, who lived in the Bay Area prior to the arrival of Europeans. The American Indians called the Farallones the "Islands of the Dead" and refused to set foot on them for spiritual reasons. The first European to record the islands was the English privateer Sir Francis Drake, who landed on the islands on 24 July 24, 1579, in order to collect seal meat and bird eggs for his ship. He named them the 'Islands of St. James', a name that survives only as the name of one of the rocky islets of the North Farallones. The islands were given the name "Farallones" (literally 'Rocks') by Sebastián Vizcaíno, who first charted them in 1603. The islands got their name from Father Antonio de la Ascencion, the friar on Spanish explorer Sebastian Viscaino's expedition of 1603. The friar wrote in his diary, "Six leagues before reaching Punta de los Reyes (Point Reyes) is a large island, two leagues from land and three leagues northwest of this are ... seven farallones close together." "Farallones" in Spanish means "rocky promontory rising from the ocean." A very apt description. In 1769, the explorer Juan Francisco de Bodega renamed them "Los Farallones de los Frailes". In the years following their discovery, the islands were exploited by seal hunters, first from New England and later from Russia. The Russians maintained a sealing station in the Farallones from 1819 to 1838, decimating the islands' population of fur seals. For hundreds of years, the islands remained unaffected by human interference until 1810 when New England sealing boats spent two years at the Farallones slaughtering more than 150,000 Northern Fur Seals. Following in the New Englander's footsteps, Russian fur traders set up and maintained a sealing station and camp at Fort Ross, from 1819 to 1838. The Russians continued the massacre of the Northern Fur Seal. Finally, when there was no longer a profit to be had, the Russians left in 1841. The largest island, the Southeast Farallon, was chosen as a site for one of California's first lighthouses. The bark 'Oriole' landed at the site in 1852, but the workers were driven off the island by egg poachers. In the 1850's, the Gold Rush influx led to exorbitant prices on scarce day-to-day items. For example, eggs could be sold in San Francisco for $1 to $1.50 each. Thousands of birds nested on the Farallons, and the island was a treasure trove for failed prospectors who turned their attention to other means of turning a profit. This line of thought led to the creation of the Farallones Egg Company, which plundered sea bird eggs and sold them for a huge profit. The eggers would start their season by smashing all the eggs on the island, then collecting the new eggs as they appeared. This would ensure the freshness of the eggs, as well as the satisfaction of the hungry settlers. The egg company lasted almost 40 years, and in that time it is estimated that they removed 14 million eggs from nests on the islands. Occasionally, armed clashes arose between rival poachers. The poachers believed the new lighthouse would scare off the birds, and saw the Lighthouse Service as encroaching upon their domain. The Lighthouse Service was undeterred, however. The next ship to arrive carried not only the construction workers, but also a contingent of armed troops. The poachers backed down, were evicted from the islands and construction began. In the end, the birds remained at the Farallons despite the presence of the light, and the poachers remained for another 25 years, until California's chickens could produce eggs more quickly and cheaply than the poachers could gather them. The lighthouse was built at the top of the summit of the South Farallon. The station was first lit in 1856. A unique fog signal was also built. It was powered by air compressed through a natural blowhole. The fog signal had the disadvantage of being silent in calm sea, when fog frequently appears. The signal was replaced by a steam powered signal in 1871. Manning and supplying the station was an arduous task. Even in the 1930's, there was no dock to the island, so supplies and personnel were delivered via small boats or via a winch system from a tender, supplies and personnel were literally hoisted to the island. Once on the island, supplies were dragged via a human-powered rail system to the island's various buildings. In 1972, the station was automated. This ended 117 years of continuous human residence of the islands. After Alta California was ceded by Mexico to the U.S. in 1848, the islands' environment became linked to the growth of the city of San Francisco. Beginning in 1853, a lighthouse was constructed on Southeast Farallon Island (SEFI). As the city grew, the seabird colonies came under severe threat, as eggs were collected in the millions for the markets of San Francisco. The trade, which in its heyday could yield 500,000 eggs a month, was the source of conflict between the egg collecting companies and the lighthouse keepers. This conflict turned violent in a confrontation between rival companies in 1863. The clash between two rival companies, known as the Egg War, left two men dead and marked the end of private companies on the islands, although the lighthouse keepers continued egging. This activity, combined with the threat of oil spills from shipping in San Francisco's shipping lanes, prompted President Theodore Roosevelt to sign Executive Order No. 1043 in 1909, creating the Farallon Reservation, protecting the northern islands of the chain. This was expanded to all the islands in 1969, when it became a National Wildlife Refuge. For about eleven years, from 1902 to 1913, the former U.S. Weather Bureau maintained a weather station on the southeast island. A cable connected the station with the mainland. But soon the Navy's interest in operating a Radio Station and Radion Direction Finding Station to track Naval ships, caused the quick demise of the Weather Bureau's tenure on the island. In 1913, the U.S. Navy took over the Weather Bureau buildings. U.S. Navy Radio Station (NAVRADSTA) Farallon Islands was established, to relay radio messages from incoming ships to other radio stations. The Navy operated on the island, building (and rebuilding) their facilities. Storms regularly obliterated different buildings where equipment was operated. The U.S. Navy Direction Finding Station, Farallon Islands, was established in 1923, and was co-located with the U.S. Navy Radio Station (NAVRADSTA). The lighthouse keepers, the Navy Radiomen and their respective families lived harmoniously on the islands for the next 30 years. They attempted beautification, but nature always seemed to return the island to its natural state, soon after tree plantings. In 1939, the U.S. Coast Guard assumed responsibility for the lighthouse. The lighthouse keepers and their families were replaced by Coast Guardsmen and their families. In early 1942, there were 78 residents living in some 20 homes on the southeast Farallones island, the most residents ever. The residents referred to the base as Farallon City. There were movie nights, dances and even an island newspaper. In June of 1942, the U.S. Navy closed the Navy Direction Finding Station on the Farallon Islands. DF Station personnel and functions were moved to the Navy Direction Finding Station, at the Naval Radio Station (NAVRADSTA) in South San Francisco, CA. The U.S. Navy Radio Station on the Farrallon Islands closed in 1943. The Navy left the island, beginning the steady decline in population due to de- militarization. In 1953, the Coast Guard partially automated the lighthouse and, eight years later, removed all families from the island. The Coast Guard maintained a presence on the island, although needing fewer people to run the more modern facility. In 1967 the first biologists came to the island to study the wildlife. They would soon be the islands' only human inhabitants. In 1970, the Farallones lighthouse was modernized and fully automated, eliminating the need for any tending. In 1972; the last remaining Coast Guardsman caretakers departed the Farallons. The islands are the site of many shipwrecks, including the liberty ship SS Henry Bergh, a converted troop carrier that hit West End in 1944, pieces of which can still be seen from the island today (all hands were saved). The government, at various times, considered building military air strips, a harbor, a prison and a fuel station for passing oil tankers, on the islands. The Farallones have been used as a weather station, a lighthouse facility, a Navy Radio Station and a Navy DF Station. Life on the Farallones was harsh. Most days the rocky, barren island peaks are engulfed in fog. The winds blow so hard, they destroyed every structure not consistently (and meticulously) maintained; including buildings, derricks and boats. They simply crumbled under the relentless battering of salt and storms. Over time, advancing technologies allowed the residents to go back to the mainland, and avoid enduring the difficult Farallones environment and harsh way of life. >From 1946 to 1970, the sea around the Farallones was used as a nuclear dumping site for radioactive waste under the authority of the Atomic Energy Commission at a site known as the Farallon Island Nuclear Waste Dump. Most of the dumping took place before 1960. In 1970, all dumping of radioactive wastes by the U.S. was terminated. According to a 1980 report by the Environmental Protection Agency, approximately 47,500 containers, 55 gallon steel drums, were dumped in the vicinity of the Farallones. The primary military agency which used the dumping site was the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory (NRDL), in San Francisco, which was charged with decontamination of the ships from the Operation Crossroads nuclear tests in 1946, and carried out additional radiological work throughout the period. The irradiated U.S. Navy World War II aircraft carrier USS Independence, which was used as a target at Operation Crossroads, was loaded with radioactive waste from NRDL and other generators, and was towed to sea and sunk," apparently near this site. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the exact location of the containers and the potential hazard the containers pose to the environment are unknown. The 1980 EPA report argues that attempts to remove the barrels would likely produce more of a risk to humans and the environment than simply letting them remain on the bottom of the ocean. The Farallon Islands are an important reserve protecting a huge seabird colony, with a seabird population of over 250,000. Twelve species of seabird and shorebird nest on the islands. The elephant seal population attracts a well-known population of Great White Sharks to the islands as well. In 1970, Farallon biologists witnessed their first shark attack, on a Steller’s sea lion. During the next fifteen years, more than one hundred attacks on seals and sea lions were observed at close range. By the year 2000, biologists were logging almost eighty attacks in a single season. No one had ever documented such behavior among great whites before. Humpback whales pass through this part of the Pacific Ocean on their migrations; moreover, in December 2005 one Humpback was rescued from netting entanglement east of the Farallons by staff of The Marine Mammal Center. The last sighting of another famous humpback, named Humphrey, was near the Farallones in 1991. The islands are in the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, which protects the feeding grounds of the wildlife of the refuge. The islands are also part of the Point Reyes Farallons National Marine Sanctuary. The islands are currently managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in conjunction with the Marin-based PRBO Conservation Science (formerly Point Reyes Bird Observatory (PRBO). The islands are currently the subject of long term ecological research. Today, the Farallones are closed to the public, although birders and wildlife enthusiasts can approach them on whale watching boats. Today, only biologists remain on the Farallon Islands, along with thousands of birds, seals and sea lions. The existing lighthouse provides a perfect lookout. Biologists stand watch to observe the increasing numbers of marine mammals, to detect great white shark attacks, to watch for wayward songbirds and to witness the largest seabird breeding colony in the contiguous U.S. Navy Direction Finding Station, Farallon Islands, CA 1923 Jun 1942 At Naval Radio Station (NAVRADSTA), Farallon Islands, CA Moved to South San Francisco Navy Direction Finding Station, South San Francisco, CA Jun 1942 Mar 1943 At Naval Radio Station (NAVRADSTA) South San Francisco, CA Located at Mills Field, South San Francisco. Navy Direction Finding Station, Castroville, CA Mar 1943 Jul 1945 Transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard ================================================================================= Fire Island, New York Fire Island is a barrier island, approximately 31 miles long and varying between approximately 0.1 mile to 0.5 mile wide, in Suffolk County on the southern side of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York, running approximately WSW to ENE. The land area is 18.7 square miles, and a permanent population of 310 persons was reported as of the 2000 census. There are many thousands of seasonal residents. Fire Island is about 5 1/2 miles south of the main land of Long Island, although within a mile in its eastern portion. It is separated from the mainland by a series of interconnected bays (Great South Bay, Patchogue Bay, Bellport Bay, Narrow Bay, and Moriches Bay). A small portion of the island is accessible by automobile from Long Island by the Robert Moses Causeway on its western end, and by William Floyd Parkway near its eastern end. The island and its resort towns are mainly accessible by the numerous ferries. The first Fire Island Lighthouse was built in 1825, first lit in 1827, and was replaced by the current lighthouse in 1858. The Fire Island Lighthouse was built right on the inlet, but Fire Island's western terminus at Democrat Point has steadily moved west so that the lighthouse today is six miles from the inlet. Automated in 1986, the Fire Island Lighthouse is an active aid to navigation. The derivation of the name Fire Island is not certain. One version says that the island derived its name from fires on it, used by Native Americans; or by Pirates to lure unsuspecting ships. Yet another version says it comes from the rash caused by poison ivy on the island. The name of Fire Island first appeared on a deed in 1789. While the western portion of the island was referred to as Fire Island for many years, the eastern portion was referred to as Great South Beach, until 1920 when widespread development of the island caused the whole island to be referred to as Fire Island. The U.S. Lifesaving Station was built on Fire Island in 1849, and was located on Great South Beach, two and one half miles east of Fire Island Inlet and two miles west southwest of the Fire Island Lighthouse. The first keeper was appointed in 1853. The U.S. Coast Guard Station at Fire Island is still in operation. The Fire Island Lifesaving Station was one of the earliest Lifesaving stations, built in 1849, one-half mile west of the Fire Island Lighthouse. The Fire Island station originally occupied a portion of the Fire Island Lighthouse Reservation. At various times, permission was given to move the buildings to different locations on the reservation. In 1920, a contract was awarded to move the station buildings to a new site. It is not known whether the new station occupied the same site which was described in the permit granted by the Lighthouse Bureau in 1920 or some other portion of the land. By permit dated June 9, 1920, from the Lighthouse Bureau, the right to occupy a definitely described portion of the reservation containing 2.15 acres was granted. In 1921, the station buildings had been moved to a new site on the bay side of the island, on account of the encroachment of the sea. The Act of June 7, 1924 transferred the whole Fire Island Lighthouse Reservation to the State of New York for park purposes. The act, however, reserved to the U.S. the right to assume control, use, etc., without license, consent, permit, lease, etc., from the state and specifically reserved any portion of the reservation which might be necessary for the use of the Coast Guard. In 1925, the description of the site of the station was on Fire Island Beach and one-half mile west of Fire Island Lighthouse. In 1932, a new station was erected. The station was moved again, and by 1936, the position changed to "near west end of Fire Island, two and one-quarter miles west of Fire Island Lighthouse." Fire Island station was one of those extensively damaged during the hurricane, which swept the Atlantic coast in September of 1938. The station remained in commission throughout World War I and World War II. Except for the western 4 1/2 miles of the island, the island is protected as part of Fire Island National Seashore. Robert Moses State Park, occupying the remaining western portion of the island, is one of the popular recreational destinations in the New York City area. The Fire Island Lighthouse is a visible landmark just east of Robert Moses State Park. Navy Direction Finding Station, Fire Island, NY at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Fire Island, NY ================================================================================= Folly Island, South Carolina Folly Beach is a city in Charleston County, SC. The population was 2,117 at the 2000 census. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, Folly Beach is included within the Charleston-North Charleston Urbanized Area and the larger Charleston-North Charleston Metropolitan Statistical Area. Folly Island is a six and a half mile long, half mile wide barrier island that receives the brunt of the harsh winds, waves and weather from the Atlantic Ocean. Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) crawl onto the beach at Folly between May and September to lay their eggs. It is the closest beach to historical Charleston, SC, 15 minutes via the Connector. Folly Beach is the home of sea, sand, and surfing; historical and cultural sites; a maritime forest; Morris Island Lighthouse; and several endangered species of birds. When settlers approached their new homeland by sea, one of their first sights here at the edge of America was a coastline densely packed with trees and dense foliage. As the Old English name for such an area was "Folly", this six mile stretch of Folly Beach real estate became known as Folly Island. In the 1600’s, early settlers found an Indian tribe, the Bohickets, inhabiting the island. The Bohickets left the island, only when the increasing number of Europeans in Charleston forced them to move elsewhere. Pirates also used Folly and the nearby islands as hideaways and stopping points. The stories about these buccaneers includes tales of buried treasure. The first record of Folly Island is September 9, 1696, when it was was deeded as a royal grant to William Rivers. Early in the 18th century, it became a plantation. In 1744, Folly Island was passed down through a generation and sold to Henry Samsways, whose deed referred to the Island as "Coffin Land" and a map from 1780 depicts Folly as such. However, a map dated 1800 shows Coffin Land as the western end of Folly Island where the State Park is now. The name Coffin Land came from the fact that it was customary for ships with plague or cholera victims to the leave the ill travelers on barrier islands before they entered the Charleston port. On their way back out to sea, they would pick up the survivors and bury the dead. In the 1860’s, the first shots of the Civil War were fired by Citadel Cadets on Morris Island. The Union Army took Folly Island and Morris Island on their way to Charleston. The Union Army considered the island to be strategically important. During the beginning of the Civil War, the Union soldiers constructed roads (still surviving), forts, fortifications, an artillery battery and the Pawnee Landing Supply Depot. As a result, Folly Island soon had the capacity to hold up to 13,000 troops and their equipment. Of the thousands of troops who occupied Folly, many died or fell ill from exposure to the elements and poor sanitation. Folly Island was a fascinating, strange and uninhabitable jungle like place for northern troops back in the 1860s. Fighting on the island was limited to a brief engagement between a Confederate reconnaissance team and some Federal pickets on May 10, 1863. But the artillery battery was put to use shelling Fort Wagner. This engagement was part of the Battle of Morris Island. From July to September 1863, the Union Army used Folly Island as its main strategic base for the battle. When the island’s artillery and troops overcame the Confederate positions on Fort Wagner, the Union forces moved the battery to the captured fort and began attacking Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Union soldiers did not move from Folly Island until the end of the Civil War. One unusual reminder of their occupation came to light in May 1987, when construction workers discovered 14 bodies at the western end of Folly Beach. A subsequent investigation by the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology established that the remains were of soldiers from the 55th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment. What was surprising, however, was that 12 of the bodies did not have skulls and other body parts. The bodies also had no obvious signs of battle injuries. Just why the bodies were buried in this manner is a Civil War, and Folly Beach Island, mystery. In 1918, the Folly Island Company was formed and it began the development of the island, including a causeway which connected it with James Island and Charleston. For many years the island served as an escape for residents of Charleston. In the 1920’s, there were rumors of bootlegging on the Island. In the 1930’s, the new Atlantic Pavilion, Boardwalk, Pier and Oceanfront Hotel were built where the Holiday Inn now stands. In 1932, nine families lived on the Island year-round. In August, 1935, a U.S. Naval Radio Station, with a co-located Navy Direction Finding Station was opened on Folly Island, SC. Local government was established in 1936, when the township of Folly Beach was formed. The U.S. Naval Radio Station was closed in July, 1941. The Navy radio tower exists today, and is used by a local radio station, and as a radio beacon, to broadcast navigational warnings. In the 1940’s, many new homes were built, and improvements were made to the roads and utilities. World War II marked a turning point for the island. A large influx of workers moved into the Charleston area and required cheap housing. The permanent residents of the island dramatically increased. In 1942, bus service was established between Folly Island and the Charleston Naval Shipyard, Also in 1942, the county of Charleston purchased the toll road, which was the only land route to the island. The U.S. Coast Guard operated a station on Folly Island during World War II. The U.S. Government had seized the land for the Coast Guard Station from a local developer before the war, and returned it to the owner in 1949. In the 1960’s, Ocean Plaza was opened with 1700 feet of boardwalk, pier, amusement rides, shops, roller skating and concessions. This was the Golden Era of Folly Beach. In 1973, the Folly Beach township became a city. In 1985, the Holiday Inn was built. In 1989, Hurricane Hugo devastated much of the island causing the loss of about 200 homes, with many others receiving heavy damage. In addition, the island was cut in two at what had already become known as the Washout. Through massive aid from the federal and state governments, as well as payments from insurance companies, the island recovered. Morris Island lighthouse stands all alone, about 300 yards off shore from the island of Folly Beach. The Morris Island lighthouse is now completely surrounded by water, but was once sitting on a good sized island with numerous buildings around it. The lighthouse was completed in 1876, and was the second lighthouse to be built on the island. In the 1700s, there were three islands that stretched for four miles between Folly Island and Sullivan’s Island. They were named Middle Bay Island, Morrison Island, and Cummings Point. The first Charleston lighthouse was built on Middle Bay Island in 1767. The tower was cylindrical and stood 102 feet tall. The lantern room had a revolving lamp that had a range of about 12 miles. In the early 1800s, the channel leading to Charleston began to shift causing a change in the tidal currents. Sand began to build up between the islands and this resulted in the three islands merging into a single island. Since Morrison Island was the central of the three earlier islands, the now single island was called Morrison Island. Later the name was shortened to Morris Island. The first Charleston lighthouse continued to provide service up to the Civil War. In 1861, the fleeing Confederate soldiers blew up the lighthouse, so Union troops could not use it. Following the Civil War, in 1873, Congress appropriated money for the rebuilding of the Morris Island Lighthouse (then referred to as the Charleston Main Light). The lighthouse was completed in 1876, approximately 400 yards from the earlier tower. It stood 161 feet tall, with a day mark of black and white horizontal stripes. There were a total of 15 buildings on the island besides the lighthouse tower. Included in these were the keeper’s quarters, various out-buildings, and a one-room schoolhouse (the school teacher came over from the mainland on Monday, taught the children during the week and returned to the mainland on Friday). Toward the end of the 1800s, the channel had again shifted, but this time the change threatened the Charleston Harbor. In order to keep the channel open several jetties had to be built. These were completed in 1889. Although the channel into Charleston was saved, the changing tidal currents resulting from the jetties caused severe erosion on Morris Island. The island began to shrink. By 1938, many of the buildings were destroyed and others were moved. The light was automated in 1938. Since 1938, over 1600 feet of land surrounding the tower has been lost. Today it stands alone, completely surrounded by water. In 1962 the Sullivan’s Island lighthouse was built to replace the Morris Island Light, which was decommissioned. The U.S. Coast Guard had plans to demolish the tower, but petitions from local residents saved the structure. The Coast Guard built an underground steel wall around the tower to protect it from further erosion damage. The lighthouse is now privately owned and efforts are underway to preserve the Morris Island Light. Navy Direction Finding Station, Folly Island, SC Aug 1935 Jul 1941 at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Folly Island, SC ================================================================================= Fort Barry, Point Bonita, Sausalito, California Fort Barry is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and is located across the Golden Gate from San Francisco, in Marin County about three miles northwest of the Golden Gate Bridge. The site has been preserved as a Nike museum, complete with missiles (inert). This site was given intact to the National Park Service in 1974, after it was decommissioned for use as a legacy of the Nike program. The Nike site is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Fort Barry Historic District. See also: Cold Warhead, By Tom McNichol, The Washington Post, Sunday, November 30, 1997, . When the first set of modern coast defense works were being built in the 1890s, the Lime Point Reservation was split in half, the eastern half becoming Fort Baker and the western half becoming Fort Barry, named after Brevet Major General William F. Barry, an Artillery veteran of the Civil War. The artillery emplacements of Fort Barry were built in the vicinity of Point Bonita. The 12-inch gun emplacements of Battery Wallace were built during the 1920s, the only long range defensive work built on the west coast during the period between the World Wars. A new 16" emplacement (Battery 129) was built on the boundary between Barry and Baker during WWII. The 1950s brought a Nike launch site, Site SF-88, to Fort Barry, which today has been restored to working condition complete with Nike missiles inside. Fort Barry's headland vistas give unsurpassed views of the Golden Gate and San Francisco. The complete separation from the urban areas imparts a nice feeling of being in the wilderness. Old military buildings and bunkers abound for the curious. Some of Fort Barry's buildings are currently used as a youth hostel. The chapel now houses the Marin Headlands visitor center. Point Bonita Lighthouse The Point Bonita Lighthouse at the entrance to San Francisco Bay, near Sausalito, was established in 1855. Point Bonita Light Station had the first fog signal on the West Coast. It was an Army surplus 24-pounder siege gun. This lighthouse is the only one in America that can only be reached by crossing a suspension bridge, a replica of the Golden Gate Bridge Gold Gate Bridge. The original Point Bonita Light was located "too high". While East Coast lights need to be tall to be seen, the West Coast has incredibly dense fog above 300 feet. The original light was 306 feet above sea level. The second order Fresnel lens was often cloaked in fog and was not able to be seen from the sea below. In 1877, the lighthouse was moved to its current location. This location required the builders to overcome many challenges, including the need for a hand carved, 118-foot long hard rock tunnel. The Lighthouse was automated in 1980, and is currently operational as a U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation. Golden Gate National Recreation Area Created in 1972, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) is a U.S. National Recreation Area administered by the National Park Service, that surrounds the San Francisco Bay area. It is one of the largest urban parks in the world, with a size two-and-a-half times that of the consolidated city and county of San Francisco. The park is not one continuous locale, but rather a collection of areas that stretch from northern San Mateo County to southern Marin County, and includes several areas of San Francisco. The park contains famous tourist attractions such as Muir Woods National Monument, Fort Baker, the Marin Headlands (which Includes a Nike missile site, the Marine Mammal Center, Fort Cronkhite, Fort Barry, Muir Beach, Tennessee Valley and Gerbode Valley) and the Point Bonita Lighthouse in Marin County; Alcatraz, Fort Mason, the Fort Point National Historic Site and the Presidio of San Francisco, all located in the city of San Francisco; and Milagra Ridge and Sweeney Ridge (Nike missile sites) in San Mateo County, The park encompasses 59 miles of bay and ocean shoreline and has military fortifications that span centuries of California history, from the Spanish conquistadors to Cold War-era Nike missile sites. Navy Direction Finding Site, Fort Barry, CA at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Fort Barry, CA ================================================================================= Fourth Cliff, Scituate, Massachusetts Scituate is a small seacoast town located in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod Bay, midway between Boston and Plymouth. The population was 17,863 at the 2000 census. Scituate is bordered on the east by Massachusetts Bay, on the south by Marshfield, on the west by Norwell and Hingham, all of which are in Plymouth County, and on the northwest by Cohasset, in Norfolk County. The town is nineteen miles northeast of Brockton, and twenty-five miles southeast of Boston. Scituate is considered a South Shore community, located just south of the mouth of greater Boston Harbor. The town is not contiguous; Humarock and Fourth Cliff are parts of Scituate which can only be reached from Marshfield. The latter was formerly connected to the town, but that connection was lost with a river shift as the result of the Portland Gale of November, 1898. The town's shore varies, with the south (along the mouth of the North River) being marshy, the middle (around Scituate Harbor) being more bucolic, to the rocky coast of Scituate Neck in the north. It is off these rocks that Minot's Ledge lies, home to the town's most famous lighthouse. The inland of the town is mostly wooded, with several brooks and rivers, including Cold Brook, for which the town is named. Settlers from Plymouth, England first settled in Scituate, in about 1627. They were joined by immigrants from the County of Kent in England. Initially governed by the General Court of Plymouth County, MA; the town incorporated in 1636 as a separate entity. The name Scituate is derived from "satuit," the Wampanoag term for "cold brook". In 1717, the western portion of the original grant was separated and incorporated as the town of Hanover. In 1788, a section of the town was ceded to the town of Marshfield. In 1849, a western section became the town of South Scituate, which later was renamed as Norwell. Fishing was a significant part of the local economy, as well as the sea mossing industry. A small fishing fleet is still resident in Scituate Harbor. In May, 1810, the Federal Government appropriated $4000 for a lighthouse to be built at the entrance of Scituate Harbor. The Cedar Point Scituate Harbor Lighthouse was completed on September 19, 1811, two months ahead of schedule, making it the 11th lighthouse in the U.S. The octoganal shaped lighthouse, situated on the northern edge of Scituate Harbor, was first lit in 1811. The day pattern is solid white, with a green lantern room roof. In September, 1814, Rebecca and Abagail Bates, the two daughters of the lighthouse keeper, warded off an attack by British soldiers by playing their fife and drum loudly. The British retreated as they thought the sound came from the Scituate Town Militia. In 1827, the height of the lighthouse was raised 15 feet to 25 feet, and a new lantern room was added, to improve the visibility of the lighthouse. In 1850, construction of the Minot's Ledge Light was completed, and the Scituate Lighthouse was removed from service. In 1852, the lighthouse was put back into service after a storm destroyed the first Minot's Ledge Light. A Fresnel lens was installed in 1855. In the 1960's, the light was once again removed from service after the second tower at Minot's Ledge was built. In 1891, a skeleton tower was placed at the end of the jetty built in 1890. Keepers for this new light were housed in the Scituate Lighthouse keeper's quarters. In 1916, the lighthouse was put up for sale. In 1917, The town of Scituate bought the lighthouse for $4,000. In 1924, an acetylene automated light was installed at the skeleton tower and keepers were no longer required. In 1958, an automated electric beacon was placed on the jetty. In the 1960's, the lighthouse was in a state of disrepair, and the Scituate Historical Society appropriated $6,500 to accomplish the necessary repairs. In 1988, the lighthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In July, 1991, the lighthouse was relit with the light visible only from land. In 1994, the lighthouse was relit, and is currenctly an active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation. In 2002, tours of the lighthouse were made available by the Scituate Historical Society. The U.S. Lifesaving Station at Fourth Cliff was located at the south end of Fourth Cliff, Scituate, MA. It was built in 1879. The first keeper was appointed on September 3, 1879. The original station was referred to as the Scituate Station, until changed by the Treasury Department to Fourth Cliff on June 1, 1883. Necessary repairs and improvements were made to the station in 1893, as "the sea was making dangerous inroads upon the station lot, and it was deemed advisable before making repairs to move the station to a secure position, which was done." In 1919, the station was destroyed by fire, and the site was thereafter used as an auxiliary to the Brant Rock station. On January 28, 1915, the U.S. Lifesaving Service and its functions were consolidated with the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service to form the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard Station at Fourth Cliff was abandoned in 1952. The Coast Guard also has a station at Scituate Harbor, just opposite First Cliff. In the 1878 Annual Report is mentioned that a U.S. Lifesaving Station was authorized by a Congressional Act of June 18, 1878, to be built at or near Scituate, Massachusetts. A station was built in approximately 1885, and it first appeared in the records in 1886. The Lifesaving Station was located two and one-half miles south of Minots Ledge Light, near North Scituate Beach. In 1921, the seawall was repaired. The station disappears from the list of stations after 1939, and was abandoned in 1947. The 1934 U.S. Navy Radio Station was located on U.S. Navy property, just north of the U.S. Radio Station reservation (base) on Fourth Cliff, a gravel hill on Massachusetts Bay, in the southern end of the town of Scituate, MA. The station was 19.5 feet from the edge of the cliff. In 1935, the Radio and Compass house of the Naval Radio Direction Finder Station was located in the extreme southeasterly section of the town of Scituate, at the very top of the cliff, on a bluff, known locally as Fourth Cliff. The U.S. Navy Radio Station at Fourth Cliff was closed in approximately 1943, and was abandoned. The Fourth Cliff Military Reservation site is now used as an Air Force Family Recreation Center. It consists of 56 acres of land area located at the northern tip of the Humarock Peninsula in the town of Scituate, MA. Of the total 56 acres, approximately 20 acres are located along a westerly peninsula extending out from the end of the Humarock Peninsula. Approximately 22 acres are located on the peninsula uplands and contain World War II historic structures. The remaining 14 acres consist of salt marsh and beach areas. The Fourth Cliff Reservation is located at the confluence of the North and South Rivers and the coastal environment of the Atlantic Ocean. The Family Recreation Center is operated by Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, MA. Navy Direction Finding Station, Fourth Cliff, MA c1935 c1943 at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Fourth Cliff, MA c1934 c1943 ================================================================================= Galveston, Pelican Island, Texas Galveston, Galveston Island, Texas Galveston is a city and the seat of Galveston County located along the Gulf Coast region within the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2005 U.S. Census estimate, the city had a total population of 57,466. Galveston is accessible by a causeway linking Galveston Island to the mainland on the north end of the city, a toll bridge on the western end of the island, and by ferry boat service on the east end of the city. Galveston is known for a ten mile long seawall, designed to protect the city from floods and hurricane storm surge. Pelican Island forms the north bank of the Port of Galveston. The Texas A&M University, Marine Campus, Bludworth Shipbuilding and Repair, and Seawolf Park are located on Pelican Island. Seawolf Park displays the USS Cavalla (SS-244), a Gato-class submarine of WWII vintage; a jet plane, the Edsall-class Destroyer Escort USS Stewart (DE-238), on active duty from 1943 to 1947, and in a reserve status from 1947 to 1972; and the Sturgeon-class submarine Tautog (SSN-639), on active duty from 1961 to 1997. Pelican Island was the site of a Immigration/Quarantine station in the late 1800's and early 1900's. The SS Selma, a World War I reinforced concrete hull tanker, scuttled decades ago off the coast of Galveston, is beached on the east side of the island. Galveston is a city in Galveston county. Galveston Island is a barrier island on the Texas Gulf coast, about 50 miles southeast of Houston. The entire island, with the exception of the little Village of Jamaica Beach, is within the city limits of the City of Galveston. The island is about 27 miles long and no more than 3 miles wide at its widest point. The island is oriented generally northeast-southwest, with the Gulf of Mexico on the east and south, West Bay on the west, and Galveston Bay on the north. The island's main access point from the mainland is the Interstate Highway 45 causeway that crosses West Bay on the northeast side of the island. The far north end of the island is separated from the Bolivar Peninsula by Galveston Harbor, the entrance to Galveston Bay and the Houston Ship Channel. Ferry service is available between Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula. The southern end of the island is separated from the mainland by San Luis Pass. The San Luis Pass-Vacek Toll Bridge connects the San Luis Pass Road on Galveston Island with the Bluewater Highway that leads south into the town of Surfside Beach. Galveston Island was originally inhabited by members of the Karankawa and Akokisa tribes, when Galveston was settled by Europeans in 1528. In November of 1527, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca made a brief stop-over on the island during his infamous Odyssey. Generally identified as the island called Malhado on which Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca was wrecked in 1528, Galveston Island was variously known to Spanish navigators as Isla Blanca, San Luis Island, and Isla de Aranjuez. In the late 1600s, the French explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle claimed the area for Louis XIV and named it Saint-Louis. The island was named in honor of Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez and Viceroy of Mexico, in 1785, by Spanish explorer José de Evia, who charted the Gulf Coast. The island was often called by the Spaniards Snake Island or Isla de Culebras, as were several others of the Texas coastal islands. The first permanent European settlements on the island were constructed around 1816 by the pirate Louis-Michel Aury, as a base of operations to support Mexico's rebellion against Spain. Jao de la Porta, along with his brother Morin, financed the first settlement by Europeans on Galveston Island in 1816. Joa de la Porta was born in Portugal and When Laffite left Galveston Island in 1820, Jao became a full-time trader.. In 1817, the pirate Aury returned from an unsuccessful raid against Spain to find Galveston occupied by the pirate Jean Lafitte, who took up residence there after having been driven from his stronghold in Barataria Bay off the coast of New Orleans, Louisiana. Lafitte organized Galveston into a pirate "kingdom" he called "Campeachy" (or "Campeche"), anointing himself the island's "head of government." In 1818, Jean Laffite appointed Jao supercargo for the Karankawa Indian trade. Lafitte remained in Galveston until 1821, when he and his raiders were given an ultimatum by the U.S. Navy: leave or be destroyed. Lafitte burned his settlement to the ground and sailed under cover of night for parts unknown. There are still rumors that Lafitte's treasure is buried somewhere between Galveston Island, Bolivar Peninsula and High Island. The Port of Galveston, also called Galveston Wharves, began as a trading post in 1825. Today, the port has grown to 850 acres of port facilities. The port is located on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, on the north side of Galveston Island, with some facilities on Pelican Island. The port has facilities to handle all types of cargo including containers, dry and liquid bulk, breakbulk, RO/RO, refrigerated, and project cargoes. The port of Galveston also serves as a passenger cruise ship terminal for cruise ships operating in the Caribbean. Following its successful revolution from Spain, Mexico designated Galveston a port of entry in 1825, erecting a customs house in 1830. During the Texas Revolution, Galveston served as the main port for the Texas Navy. Galveston also served as the capital of the Republic of Texas, when in 1836, interim President David G. Burnet relocated his government there. In 1836, Michel B. Menard, a native of Canada, along with several associates purchased 4,605 acres of land for $50,000 from the Austin Colony, to found the town that would become the modern city of Galveston. Menard and his associates began selling plots on April 20, 1838. In 1839, the City of Galveston adopted a charter and was incorporated by the Congress of the Republic of Texas. The Galveston South Jetty Lighthouse was established on Galveston Island in Galveston Bay in 1856. The 84 foot tall cylindrical, octogonal tower, standing on a steel skeleton at the end of the south jetty, was constructed of concrete, brick and steel. The third order Fresnel lens was first lit in 1916. The tower incorporated a three story keeper’s quarters. Automated in the 1940's, the lighthouse served for 54 years before being deactivated by the U.S. Coast Guard in 1972. In 1974, the original third order Fresnel lens was salvaged and was given to the Galveston County Historical Museum, where it was restored and is on display today. It now stands atop a 40 foot decorative steel tower, in Beacon Square on the campus of Galveston College. The lighthouse tower was allowed to fall into disrepair, once it was decommissioned in 1972. The Coast Guard announced plans to tear it down in the late 1990’s. No action was taken and the steel supports deteriorated. On May 2, 2000, a severe thunderstorm struck the lighthouse and toppled the tower onto its side, into the Gulf, leaving nothing but mangled twisted steel. Plans had been underway to relocate the lighthouse to Galveston Island State Park at the other end of Galveston, where it could have been restored and opened to visitors. At last report, the ruins were still where they fell at the end of the jetty, broken and open to continued damage from weather and storms. The U.S. Coast Guard owns the site. The Fort Point Lighthouse Station was established on Galveston Bay in 1881, and the fourth order Fresnel lens was first lit in 1882. The property was reserved for public use by the Republic of Texas in 1836. On June 28, 1878, Congress authorized $15,000 for construction of a lighthouse at Fort Point. The 47 1/2 foot tower was a white hexagonal screw-pile structure, with a black lantern and dome. The fog horn was a bell, struck by hand. The lighthouse light was discontinued and deactivated on July 31, 1909, but remained as a fog signal station. The station retained an active fog signal until 1950. The Fort Point Station was dismantled in 1953. The Galveston North Jetty Lighthouse, established in 1897 on Galveston Bay, consisted of a small building with no living quarters, built on piles at the end of the north jetty, with a light mounted on the roof. It was serviced by the keepers from the Bolivar Point Lighthouse. By the early 1900s, the lighthouse was deactivated, and was replaced by a daybeacon, mounted on a pyramidal slatted structure, on piles, atop a concrete block. The lighthouse building was dismantled. The Battle of Galveston was fought in Galveston Bay and on the island on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War, when Confederate forces under Major General John B. Magruder attacked and expelled occupying Union troops from the city, which remained in Confederate hands for the duration of the war. In the late 1897, the Fort Crockett coastal defense artillery batteries installation was constructed in Galveston, along the Bolivar Roads. The U.S. Coast Guard Station at Galveston is currently located at the northeast end of Galveston Island, at Fort Point, 3/8 mile southeast by east of the quarantine station; on Pelican Spit, on the west side of the channel entrance. The Coast Guard began it's service to the Galveston Bay area in the year 1878, when the U.s. Government acquired a lot and erected a U.S. Lifesaving (lifeboat) Station on Pelican Island. The first keeper of the Lifesaving Station was appointed on November 24, 1888. On September 8, 1900, the greatest natural disaster to ever strike the U.S. occurred at Galveston, Texas. In the early evening hours of September 8, a hurricane came ashore at Galveston bringing with it a great storm surge that inundated most of Galveston Island and the city of Galveston. As a result, much of the city was destroyed and at least 6,000 people were killed in a few hours time. The first U.S Lifesaving Station at Pelican Island was destroyed by a Hurricane in 1900, and the old station was torn down and rebuilt in 1909. The station was once again destroyed in the great hurricane of 1915. Shortly thereafter, the station was relocated to the old immigration station on Pelican Island. Attached to the Pelican Island station were two 32 foot picket boats used for anti-smuggling patrols, a lifeboat, a surfboat, a power dory, and a 46 foot launch. The station remained on Pelican island until it was moved to it's current location at Fort Point, in 1938. The property on Pelican Island was turned over to the GSA in 1954 for disposal. After being attached to Group Galveston for over 26 years, Coast Guard Station Galveston became an independent unit in 1994. The U.S. Coast Guard Station Galveston at Fort Point is still in operation. At the end of the 19th century, the city of Galveston was a booming metropolis with a population of 37,000 (more than Houston in 1900). Its position on the natural harbor of Galveston Bay along the Gulf of Mexico made it the center of trade in Texas, and one of the largest cotton ports in the nation, in competition with New Orleans. A causeway linking the island with the mainland was finished in 1860, which paved the way for railroad expansion. the storm of 1900 stalled economic development and the city of Houston grew into the region's principal metropolis, Galveston has regained some of its former glory. Today, it is considered a major tourist destination and remains a port of entry and a destination for cruise ships, and a port of call and repairs for cargo ships. Galveston is currently ranked the number one cruise port on the Gulf Coast and number four in North America (2007). Navy Direction Finding Station, Galveston, TX at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Galveston, TX ================================================================================= Gamatron Island, Greenland, Denmark Greenland is a largely deserted island of about 827,000 square miles, most of which lies above the Arctic Circle. Scientists believe that the interior is covered by mountains and steep gorges, but since prehistoric times they have been buried under a mass of ice that covers 80 percent of the land area. If the Greenland ice cap ever melted, the world's oceans would rise by about 20 feet. In the winter, the arctic winds blow unimpeded for hundreds of miles over the ice cap, covering it with snow and driving the temperature as low as 90 degrees below zero. The coastline is penetrated by hundreds of narrow fjords, some of them jutting 90 miles inland. For most of the year Greenland is virtually surrounded by a 20 to 30 mile-wide belt that the Eskimos call the storis, a mass of floating icebergs ranging from a few yards to several city blocks wide. During the winter Greenland is almost isolated from the rest of the world; only ships equipped for breaking ice can force their way into the fjords. Few have reason to try. In the spring and summer, the climate of southern Greenland is relatively congenial, with temperatures warming to the 50s as chunks of glacial ice rumble down the fjords on their way out to sea. The storis, propelled by the current, drifts westward around Cape Farewell, the southern tip of the island, and eventually disappears. As the snow melts and the wind dies the little settlements take on a pleasantly rustic look, with bright red and yellow buildings adding color to the rocky landscape. There are few trees, but enough grass grows along some of the fjords to sustain herds of sheep, and the combination of warm air and high humidity produces frequent drizzle and mists. Summer visitors to Greenland are surprised by the swarms of mosquitoes. In 1940, most of the 20,000 or so inhabitants lived in villages along the southwest coast, paying casual homage to a handful of uniformed bureaucrats representing the foreign ministry of Denmark. The Danes had been governing Greenland as a colony for several hundred years, supplying the Greenlanders with manufactured goods and foodstuffs in exchange for seal oil, animal skins and fish. The Danish government maintained a strict monopoly on exports and kept visits by foreigners to a minimum. The justification for that policy was that the Eskimos had no immunity to European diseases, and were almost totally ignorant of 20th-century business practices. On April 9, 1940, Hitler's war machine turned on Denmark. The Danes, utterly unprepared for war and threatened with an air assault on Copenhagen, capitulated on the same day. The fall of Denmark precipitated a burst of nervous activity in the U.S. State Department. Early in 1941, under intensifying pressure from the British and the Canadians, a meeting of representatives from the State, War and Navy Departments decided that the U.S. should participate actively in the defense of Greenland. Geography had given it a significant role to play in the war that was taking form in Europe. American factories were about to disgorge a stream of aircraft to be sent to Britain under the Lend-Lease Act, and the fastest way for an airplane to get to England was under its own power. The Army Air Forces worked out a route that aircraft could fly in short hops; the great circle track from Nova Scotia to Scotland ran over southern Greenland. Another strategic factor was the value of Greenland as a site for weather stations. Data collected in Greenland helped meteorologists predict the weather for western Europe. In March 1941, the South Greenland Survey Expedition, consisting of diplomats, Naval and Army officers, and an observer from the Royal Canadian Air Force, sailed from Boston in the 'Cayuga' to locate suitable sites for air bases, weather stations, and other military installations. On April 9, 1941, Secretary of State, Cordell Hull and the Danish ambassador signed the Hull-Kauffmann Agreement, giving the U.S. the authority to build and operate air bases and other defensive facilities in Greenland. In April 1941, the Coast Guard had been tasked informally with patrolling the waters around Greenland. At this time, the Battle of the Atlantic had raged for over eighteen months. Convoys steaming to and from the British Isles carried vital wartime materials. Merchant shipping had suffered tremendous losses from German submarines that prowled the western approaches to the European Continent. The United States sought to prevent war from spilling into its waters and to protect neutral shipping. In June and July 1941, the American Naval forces congregating around Greenland were organized officially into the Greenland Patrol. The Northeast Greenland Patrol, consisted of the three U.S. Coast Guard Cutters (USCGC), the USS Northland (WPG-49), the USS North Star (WPG-59), and the USS Bear. The USS Northland was commisioned in 1927, and was a former Bering Sea Patrol cutter. The USS North Star was a wooden-hulled former U.S. Department of Interior survey ship, commissioned in 1932, and re-commisioned in May, 1941 as a U.S. Coast Guard cutter. The USS Bear was originally constructed in 1873 as a sealer. She was commisioned in 1885, by the U.S. Treasury Department as the USRC Bear (U.S. Revenue Cutter) service vessel, with a 41-year career on the Alaskan Patrol. She later saw service as a U.S. Navy vessel during World War I (1917-1929). Refitted in September, 1933, she participated in the U.S. Antarctic Expedition commanded by famed Arctic explorer, Admiral Richard E. Byrd (1939-1941). The USS Bear, reconditioned by the Navy and armed for duty in Greenland, was the oldest Coast Guard Cutter to see service in World War II. The Greenland Patrol was assigned to keep the northeastern portion of Greenland under surveillance, to convoy U.S. Army transports, ore carrying vessels and supply ships, break ice for them if necessary, continue hydrographic surveying, maintain communications between the U.S. and Greenland government posts, rescue survivors of submarine attacks, maintain air and surface patrols, construct and maintain aids to navigation, bring supplies to small Danish settlements and Eskimos, and discover and destroy enemy weather and radio stations in Greenland. In June 1941, a steady traffic of U.S. Army freighters and troop transports began steaming from Argentia, Newfoundland, to Narsarssuak, Greenland, accompanied by Coast Guard cutters to protect them from U-boats and break up the storis in their paths. By September, the Army engineers had constructed 85 buildings and three miles of access roads; the jeeps that were flown in were Greenland's first automobiles. Shortly a civilian contractor's force arrived to begin work on the airfield itself. BLUIE West 1 was to become the major U.S. Army, Navy and Coast Guard base in Greenland. Thousands of aircraft would stop there for refueling on their way to Britain. The Americans stationed at the BLUIE bases led a strenuous and monotonous existence. Most never saw a Greenlander; the Army, in keeping with the Danes' prewar policy, declared all Greenland settlements off-limits to American personnel. The barracks were comfortably insulated against the cold, had running water and toilet facilities. Like other American camps, BLUIE West 1 had a motion-picture theater, barber shop and an excellent library. The facilities were indeed reasonably sanitary, but neither the Army nor the contractors could do anything about the weather. In the winter the buildings could be buried under the snow, and the winds at BLUIE West 1 reached 120 mph. Men had to crawl from building to building. One officer, stepping casually out of his hut, was hurled against a wall 20 feet away and broke both his arms. Intercepted radio signals indicated that German weather stations hidden among the coastal mountains were sending reports of developing storm patterns to Berlin, and to U-boats operating in the North Atlantic. The Germans were rumored to be planning a large-scale landing on the east coast of Greenland. On September. 4, 1941, a U-boat torpedoed the U.S. destroyer Greer, which was passing through Greenland waters carrying a shipment of mail to the newly-established American military base in Iceland. On September 11th, 1941 President Roosevelt delivered a radio address denouncing the behavior of the Germans in the North Atlantic and warning that "from now on, if German or Italian vessels of war enter the waters, the protection of which is necessary for American defense, they do so at their own peril." President Roosevelt also issued his "shoot on sight" order to the U.S. Naval forces. The same day, by Executive Order, portions of the Coast Guard began operating as part of the U.S. Navy. Also in September, 1941, the U.S. Naval Supplementary Radio Station, and co-located Radio Detection Finder Station were established by the U.S. Navy on Gamatron Island. The establishment of the BLUIE bases brought more seagoing traffic to Greenland than it had ever seen. Prior to the war the Danes had operated one light station in Greenland; the only other extant aids to navigation were heaps of rocks on prominent points and posts on which kerosene lamps could be hung. The complicated and hastily charted geography created at least as great a danger to shipping as the U-boats did. Late in 1941, the Coast Guard undertook to establish a system of aids that would make the fjords and coastal waters of Greenland tolerably safe for navigation. In November, 1942, the USS Northland landed a party of 41 officers and men and 30 tons of equipment on Jan Mayen, a Norwegian-occupied island north of Iceland, to set up a high-frequency direction finder station. The Coast Guardsmen set up a small battery of anti-aircraft machine guns, leading the Norwegian inhabitants to nickname the installation "New Chicago." At the time the U.S. entered the Second World War a team of electronics experts was working on the details of a new long-range aids-to-navigation system, called Loran. In late 1942, the U.S. Navy began setting up a chain of Loran stations running across the North Atlantic. Geography decreed that one transmitter be located in Greenland. An aerial survey established that the best site would be near an Eskimo village called Fredericksdaal on the southwest coast. The strategic importance of Loran demanded a battle with the elements at the worst time of the year; the joint Army-Navy-Coast Guard construction team arrived at Fredericksdaal Nov. 11, 1942. The party attempted to set up housekeeping in canvas tents, which promptly were scattered by a Greenland gale. By New Year's Eve the Army engineers had erected an impressive collection of sturdy-looking wooden buildings; that night the wind rose to 165 mph and, as the LT commanding the Coast Guard contingent reported, "when last seen, buildings were headed in the general direction of Boston, Mass." The solution turned out to be a row of metal Quonset huts, imbedded in a 6-foot-deep trench and buried under several tons of sand, which had to be extracted from the frozen beach with dynamite. The Greenland Loran station went on the air at Fredericksdaal on March 11, 1943. The little floatplanes attached to the Greenland Patrol's ships had demonstrated the value of the airplane in arctic search-and-rescue work. On Aug. 6, 1943, Patrol Bombing Squadron 6, a Navy unit manned entirely by Coast Guardsmen, began operating from BLUIE West 1 and Argentia, Newfoundland. Like every other Coast Guard unit in Greenland, Bombing 6 had to "do a little of everything." Its 12 PBY-5A Catalinas searched for U-boats and German weather stations, escorted convoys, delivered mail, reported on the movements of the ice, and, on several dozen occasions, guided rescue parties to crashed Army and Navy aircraft. By November 1944, Bombing 6 had flown 638,998 miles in 6,325 flying hours, searching more than 3 million square miles of ice cap and ocean. The German high command apparently never seriously considered launching a full-scale offensive in Greenland, but did continue to value it as a weather station. The convoys occasionally sighted long-range German aircraft, and the American officers blamed several Allied plane crashes on bogus radio signals emanating from enemy transmitters hidden in the coastal mountains. In July, 1944, the USS Northland and the USS Storis, with 26 Army commandos, three Danish guides, 40 sled dogs and a considerable quantity of dog food on board, were given orders to locate and destroy the German weather station base that had been discovered on the east coast near Shannon Island. The Germans fled before the Coast Guard arrived. The Americans found a small, meticulously camouflaged building, a stockpile of gasoline drums, food, and ammunition, and components of a long-range radio transmitter. Wedged in the ice about four miles from the shore station was an abandoned German trawler, apparently named Coberg, which obviously had been there for some time; its hull had been damaged by fire and holed by an explosion, and two anti-aircraft guns had been removed from the ship's deck and set up on the ice. The campaign against the weather stations marked the end of American actions against the Germans in Greenland. The U.S. Naval Supplementary Radio Station, and co-located Radio Detection Finder Station on Gamatron Island were closed by the U.S. Navy at the conclusion of World War II, in August, 1945. The facilities were transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard. Naval Supplementary Radio Station (DF), Gamatron Island, Sep 1941 Aug 1945 Greenland Transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard =================================================================================== Gloucester, Massachusetts Gloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County. It is part of Boston's North Shore. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 30,273. An important center of the fishing industry and a popular summer resort, Gloucester consists of an urban core on the north side of the harbor and the outlying neighborhoods of Annisquam, Bay View, Lanesville, Folly Cove, Magnolia, Riverdale, East Gloucester and West Gloucester. It is bounded by Rockport to the east, Ipswich Bay to the north, Essex and Manchester to the west and Massachusetts Bay to the south. The boundaries of Gloucester originally included the town of Rockport, in an area named Sandy Bay. That village separated formally on February 27, 1840. In 1873, Gloucester was reincorporated as a city. Gloucester was founded at Cape Ann by an expedition called the Dorchester Company, of men from Dorchester (in the county of Dorset, England) chartered by James I in 1623. This date allows Gloucester to boast the first settlement in what would become the Massachusetts Bay Colony, as this town's first settlement predates both Salem, Massachusetts in 1626, and Boston in 1630. This first company of pioneers made landing at Half Moon Beach, and settled nearby, setting up fishing stages in a field in what is now Stage Fort Park. The life of this first settlement was as harsh as it was short-lived. Around 1626, the place was abandoned, and the people removed themselves to Naumkeag (what is now called Salem, Massachusetts), where more fertile soil for planting was to be found. The meetinghouse was even disassembled and relocated to the new place of settlement. At some point in the following years, the area was slowly resettled. The town was formally incorporated in 1642. It is at this time that the name Gloucester first appears on tax rolls, although in various spellings. The town took its name from the great Cathedral City in southwest England, where it is assumed many of its new occupants originated. This new permanent settlement focused on the Town Green area, an inlet in the marshes at a bend in the Annisquam River. This area is now the site of Grant Circle, a large traffic-rotary. Here the first permanent settlers built a meeting house and therefore focused the nexus of their settlement on the Island for nearly 100 years. Unlike other ancient coastal towns in New England, development in Gloucester was not focused around the harbor as it is today, rather it was inland that people settled first. This is evidenced by the placement of the Town Green nearly two miles from the harbor front. The Town Green is also where the settlers built the first school in 1698. By Massachusetts Bay Colony Law, any town boasting 100 families or more had to provide a public schoolhouse. Early industry included subsistence farming and logging. Because of the poor soil and rocky hills, Cape Ann was not well suited for farming on a large scale. Small family farms and livestock provided the bulk of the sustinence to the population. Fishing, for which the town is known today, was limited to close-to-shore, with families subsisting on small catches, as opposed to the great bounties yielded in later years. Early Gloucestermen cleared great swaths of the forest of Cape Ann for farm and pasture land, using the timber to build structures as far away as Boston. The rocky moors of Gloucester remained clear for two centuries until the forest reclaimed the land in the 20th Century. The inland part of the island became known as the Commons, the Common Village or Dogtown. Here small dwellings lay scattered amongst the boulders and swamps, along roads that meandered through the hills. These dwellings were at times little more than shanties, only one was even two stories tall. Despite their size, several generations of families were raised in such houses. One feature of the construction of these houses was that under one side of the floor was dug a cellar hole (for the keeping of food), supported by a foundation of laid-stone (without mortar). These cellar holes are still visible today along the trails throughout the inland part of Gloucester; they, and some walls, are all that remain of the village there. The town grew, and eventually colonists lived on the opposite side of the Annisquam River. In 1718, the settlers on the opposite shore of the river split off from the First Parish community at the Green and formed Second Parish. While still part of the Town of Gloucester, the people of Second, or West Parish, now constructed their own Meetinghouse and designated their own place of burial, both of which were in the hills near the marshes behind Wingaersheek Beach. The Meeting house is gone now, but deep in the woods on the Second Parish Road trail one can still find the scattered stones of the abandoned Burial Ground. Other parts of town later followed suit. Third Parish, in Northern Gloucester, was founded in 1728. Fourth Parish split off from First Parish in 1742. Finally, in 1754, the people of Sandy Bay (what would later be called Rockport) split off from First Parish to found Fifth Parish. The Sandy Bay church founding was the last religious re-ordering of the Colonial Period. All of these congregations still exist in some form with the exception of Fourth Parish, the site of whose meeting house is now a highway. Gloucester Lifesaving Station The U.S. Lifesaving Station at Gloucester was located at Old House Cove, westerly side of Gloucester Harbor, 1 1/4 miles north northwest from Eastern Point Light. The station's date of conveyance was 1899, and the station was built in 1900. The station was completed and put in operation in 1901. The station was discontinued in 1934. but was back on the list of active stations in 1935. The station remains in operation. Ten Pound Island Lighthouse The Ten Pound Island Lighthouse is located in the Gloucester Harbor, was originally established in 1821, and the fifth order Fresnel lens was first lit in 1821. In 1820, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the town of Glouster ceded approximately 1.7 acres to the U.S. Government for the erection of an inner Harbor Lighthouse. In 1821, a 40’ stone tower, house and storage shed were built at a cost of $24,200.00. In 1881, the stone tower was replaced by the present cast iron structure. There are numerous storiess on how Ten Pound Island received its name. One was that it was named for the amount of money that was paid to the Coral Indians for the property. It is more likely named for the number of sheep in pens (also known as pounds) on the island. Yet another story is that a ten-pound cannonball fired from Stage Fort across the harbor, reached and struck the island. On September 15, 1924, the Naval Radio Station, with co-located Navy Direction Finding Site, at Gloucester, MA was disestablished and functions were transferred to the Navy Direction Finding Station, at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Thatcher Island, MA. In 1925, a Coast Guard Air Station was placed on the island with one small scout plane. Later, two amphibious vehicles were added to the station. The purpose of the station was to catch rum-runners in the area, during Prohibition. The lighthouse was automated in 1934. In 1956, Ten Pound Island Light was decommissioned. The fifth order Frensel lens was removed, and replaced by a modern optic. The Frensel lens is now on display in the Maine Lighthouse Museum, in Rockland, Maine. When first installed, the optic was placed on the bell tower. Later, the optic was moved to a skeleton tower. In 1966, a 375mm lens was installed, and was dowgraded to a 250mm lens in 1976. In 1989, the Lighthouse Preservation Society initiated a restoration of the original lighthouse tower, which was completed in the early 1990's. Ten Pound Island light is currently operational as a U.S. Coast Guard Active Aid to Navigation, with an automated foghorn signal. Eastern Point Lighthouse For over 100 years the fishermen of Gloucester have been guided back to their home port by a lighthouse on Eastern Point. The Eastern Point Lighthouse is located on the east side entrance of Gloucester Harbor. The first lighthouse tower, established in 1832 was 30 feet high. The combined cost of the lighthouse and a small keeper's quarters was $2,450. In 1848, the original lighthouse was torn down and rebuilt. The new lighthouse was 34 feet high. An automatic foghorn and a fourth order Fresnel lens were installed in 1857. The present conical shaped brick tower, painted a gleaming white, and standing on the long rocky point forming the eastern side of the harbor, was built in 1890, at a cost of $4,300. It replaced, on the same foundation, the original tower built in 1832. Before 1832, a still older lighthouse, on Ten-Pound Island, well inside of the harbor, had served as an entrance light, but this light was never visible until ships had actually found the entrance. Hence the building of a lighthouse on the Eastern Point, where it could be seen from far offshore. In 1897, a two ton steam operated fog bell was installed, the only one in the world. The keeper's house was one of the first to have all of the modern conveniences: telephone in 1896, electricity in 1897, and running water in 1901. The lighthouse was automated in 1986, and no longer needed a keeper for either the tower or the light. Eastern Point Lighthouse is equipped with a power light and a fog signal. Coast Guardsmen also control the radio beacon, located on the end of the breakwater. The Eastern Point Lighthouse is still operational. Navy Direction Finding Site, Gloucester, MA 15 Sep 1924 at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Gloucester, MA =================================================================================== Goleta, California The city of Goleta is located in southern Santa Barbara County's Goleta Valley on the central coast of California, It was incorporated as a new city in 2002, after a long time as being the largest unincorporated, populated area in the county. As of the 2000 census, Goleta had a total population of 55,204, however, a significant portion of the census territory of 2000 did not incorporate into the new city. The Census Bureau's official estimate as of July 1, 2006 was 29,182 inhabitants within city limits. Goleta is about 8 miles northwest of the city of Santa Barbara, and 90 miles north of Los Angeles, along the coast (the coast runs east to west in this portion of southern California). Nestled between Los Padres National Forest's Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, the city is serviced by U.S. Route 101 and is close to California State Highway 154. Nearby is the Santa Barbara campus of the University of California and the student community of Isla Vista. The city's geography at the feet of the Santa Ynez Mountains has made it subject to sudden, extremely hot winds locally called "sundowners", similar to the more famous Santa Ana winds in the Los Angeles and San Diego regions. They are caused by high pressure drawing dry air from the inland side of the mountains, whereupon they can become superheated as they rush down the city's side. On June 17, 1859, a sundowner wind rushed through Goleta and rapidly raised the temperature to 133 degrees fahrenheit in a matter of minutes. People were forced to take shelter immediately; when they emerged they saw that most animals and plants had been killed. It was the highest temperature recorded in the United States until 1913. The area of present-day Goleta was populated for thousands of years by the native Chumash people; locally they were known by the first European settlers as Canaliños. Named for the canoes they built out of wooden planks and paddled into the Pacific Ocean to fish and hunt seals. They also traveled to the Channel Islands to trade with the Chumash who lived there. They built houses of boughs and reeds in the shape of cones or half oranges. Their foods were based on the fish from the ocean and creeks, shellfish, animals in the nearby forests and acorns, berries and seeds. A number of Chumash towns or villages of various sizes were located in the Goleta Valley and were known as Helo, 'Alkash, Helyik and S'apxilil. The central feature of the Goleta Valley then was a large lagoon that covered most of the valley and opened to the ocean on the south side. Near this entrance was an island on the lagoon on which was located the village of Helo. One of the largest villages, S'axpilil, was north of the Goleta Slough, not far from the present-day Santa Barbara Airport. In the mid 1500's, the Chumash probably became aware, through their trading partners, of the Spanish explorers who were coming into New Mexico and Colorado. Later in the century, large canoes "with clouds on them that moved without paddles" began to appear. The first European visitor was the Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo expedition from Mexico, who sailed past in 1542. During the 1980s, discovery of some 16th-century cannon on the beach led to the advancement of a theory that the Englishman Sir Francis Drake sailed the Chumash coast and sailed into the Goleta Slough in 1579, where he may have spent five weeks repairing his ship, the Golden Hinde, in the lagoon. In 1602, the Viscaino expedition stopped by the Goleta Valley and the nearby Chumash village of Mikiw, known today as Dos Pueblos. In 1769, the Portola expedition, sent by Spain to colonize the northern territories, passed through the Goleta Valley. The soldiers were impressed by the island in the middle of the lagoon and they named it Mescaltitlan after a similar island in their home province of Nayarit, Mexico. The Portola expedition established presidios and mission churches at San Diego and Monterey. The missionaries took possession of the land and held it in trust for the Indians. In 1775, the De Anza expedition from Mexico passed through the Goleta Valley on its way to San Francisco where that presidio and Mission Dolores were established. The trail led past the present day Goleta Valley Community Center and down Hollister Avenue. Seven years later, another Mexican expedition was sent to establish a fourth and last presidio in upper California. At first Goleta Valley was considered for the site but the presence of thousands of Chumash Indians there helped change the location to present day Santa Barbara. In 1786 the mission was founded two miles from the presidio. By 1790, the mission had established cattle herds and farms in the Goleta Valley. In 1803 the sub-mission church of San Miguel was established in the Goleta Valley near present day Hollister Avenue and David Love Place. It served the Indian ranchers there until its destruction in the 1812 earthquake, which also destroyed the mission in Santa Barbara. In the 18th century, two Spanish expeditions came to the area; the second founded the Presidio of Santa Barbara and Mission to the east, and began the work of converting the Chumash to Roman Catholicism. During the 19th century most of the area, formerly covered with oak trees, was deforested; ranching was the principal land use during this time. In 1821, Mexico won independence from Spain. Santa Barbara Mission was rebuilt and continued to grow as did all the missions in California, until 1833 when all mission lands were confiscated and eventually distributed to various families and individuals as "land grants". In 1842 the Irishman, Nicolas Den, received the first Mexican land grant in the valley. Four years later, his father-in-law Daniel Hill, another Irishman, received the La Goleta land grant. In that same year John Fremont, the American explorer and soldier, passed through the valley twice on his campaigns to capture California. The Gold Rush began in 1848, making both cattle ranchers, Den and Hill, wealthy from the sale of beef to the miners in the gold fields. In 1886, Thomas Hope purchased the two land grants to the east of La Goleta, thus placing the whole valley in the hands of the three Irishmen-Den, Hill and Hope. These pioneers were instrumental in saving the Santa Barbara Mission from destruction during the dark days of secularization. The character of the valley was changed with the deaths of Den in 1862 and Hill in 1865 and the great droughts of 1863 and 1864. These events caused the first subdivisions of the ranchos. Now famous names like Hollister, Cooper, Stow, More, Winchester, Sexton and Kellogg began to appear in the valley. Farms, dairies and ranches became the character of the Goleta Valley until the 1940's. In 1869 the villages of "La Patera", at the present day Fairview and Hollister Avenue intersection, and "Goleta" near Patterson and Hollister Avenues, began. A post office was established at Goleta in 1875 placing the name "Goleta" officially on the landscape. This name was probably picked because of the La Goleta land grant. (The word "Goleta" is Spanish for small ship or schooner.) The post office was moved to La Patera in 1936, bringing with it the Goleta name and changing the town location to the western end of Hollister Avenue. The Goleta Valley was a prominent lemon-growing region during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was largely agricultural. In addition, several areas, especially the Ellwood Mesa, were developed for oil and natural gas extraction. In the 1920's aviation pioneers started using portions of the Goleta Slough that had silted in due to agriculture to land and takeoff. As former tidelands, the title to these lands was unclear. Starting in 1940, boosters from the City of Santa Barbara lobbied and obtained federal funding and passed a bond measure to formally develop an airport on the Goleta Slough; the airport development was accelerated by U.S. response to an attack on Ellwood by a Japanese submarine. Transportation was an integral part of the Goleta Valley. The Southern Pacific Railroad reached Goleta in 1887, where the rails ended at a turntable in the Ellwood area. The route was completed in 1901 through to San Francisco. An airport was begun at Hollister and Fairview Avenues in 1928. Hangars were added in 1932 and United Airlines service began in 1936. The airport was expanded and improved with Navy funds during World War II, when it became part of the Marine Corp Flying Leatherneck Airbase. The Marine Corps undertook completion of the airport and established living quarters on the site of the current University of California, Santa Barbara campus. Crews were trained on Corsairs and posted to the Pacific Theatre. Construction of the base led to the elimination of the Chumash villages on and around Mescaltitlan Island. The U.S. mainland was first shelled by the Axis on February 23, 1942, when the Japanese submarine I-17 attacked the Ellwood oil production facilities at Goleta. The Japanese submarine fired 13 shells at the Bankline Refinery at Goleta in Southern California shortly after 7 p.m. Although only the pumphouse and catwalk of one oil well were damaged, I-17 captain Nishino Kozo radioed Tokyo that he had left Santa Barbara in flames. No casualties were reported and the total cost of the damage was officially estimated at approximately $500-1000. On June 19, 1943, the U.S. Naval Supplementary Radio Station, with co-located Navy Direction Finding Station was established at the Marine Corps Air Station at Goleta. The functions of the Navy Direction Finding Station at Point Arguello were transferred to Goleta on that date. VMF-214 - Black Sheep Squadron Marine Fighter Squadron 214 was originally commissioned on July 1, 1942, at Marine Corps Air Station Ewa, on the Island of Oahu. Initially called the "Swashbucklers", they participated in the Solomon Islands campaign, flying out of Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. They were disbanded following their combat tour and the squadron designation was given to the Marine command on Espiritu Santo, in the New Hebrides. The second formation of VMF-214 was in August, 1943, a group of twenty-seven young men under the leadership of Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington (who was later awarded the Medal of Honor) were joined together to form the original "Blacksheep" of VMF-214. The pilots ranged from experienced combat veterans, with several air-to-air victories to their credit, to new replacement pilots from the U.S. Major Boyington and Major Stan Bailey were given permission to form the unassigned pilots into a squadron, with the understanding that they would have less than four weeks to have them fully trained and ready for combat. They were very successful. The Black Sheep squadron fought for eighty-four days. They met the Japanese over their own fields and territory and piled up a record of 203 planes destroyed or damaged, produced eight fighter aces with 97 confirmed air-to-air kills, sank several troop transports and supply ships, destroyed many installations, in addition to numerous other victories. For their actions, the original Black Sheep were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for extraordinary heroism in action. The Black Sheep ended their second combat tour on January 8, 1944, five days after Major Boyington was shot down and captured by the Japanese. The original Black Sheep were disbanded and the pilots were placed in the pilot pool in Marine Aircraft Group 11. Exploits of this incarnation of the unit were loosely fictionalized in the 1970s television series Baa Baa Black Sheep (later renamed The Black Sheep Squadron), starring Robert Conrad as Boyington. VMF-214 was reformed on January 29, 1944 at MCAS Goleta, near Santa Barbara, CA. They deployed aboard the USS Franklin (CV-13) on February 4, 1945. Their mission was to join in operations on Okinawa. On March 19, a Japanese bomber hit the USS Franklin. The explosion and resulting fire caused 772 deaths aboard the Franklin including 32 Black Sheep. Many Black Sheep aircraft were launching for a strike on mainland Japan at the time. One, First Lieutenant Ken Linder, was given half credit for shooting down the Japanese bomber that struck the Franklin. This ended VMF-214 involvement in WWII. In April 1945, the Black Sheep were relocated to El Centro, CA, and then to MCAS El Toro, CA in October, 1945. In the next few years, the Black Sheep deployed for operations on board the USS Rendova (CVE-114), the USS Baroko (CVE-115), the USS Badoeng Strait (CVE-116), and the USS Boxer (CV-21). VMF-214 (redesignated VMA-214 on July 9, 1957), was also active during the Korean War, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War. From December, 1993 to July, 1994, Marines of VMA-214 participated in contingency Operation Restore Hope and Operation Quick Draw off the coast of Somalia. Also during this deployment, VMA-214 Det B participated in Operation Distant Runner in Burundi and Rwanda. In October 1994, a detachment from Marine Attack Squadron 214 supported Operation Southern Watch in Southwest Asia and Operation United Shield off the coast of Somalia. During April 1996, VMA-214 again deployed a detachment which supported Operation Southern Watch off the coast of Kuwait and Operation Desert Strike in Northern Iraq. In 1998 and 1999, the Blacksheep Squadron deployed to the North Persian Gulf to take part in Operation Desert Fox. In 2000 and 2001, the Black Sheep split the Squadron and deployed simultaneously in support of two separate areas. Detachment Alpha deployed to Iwakuni, Japan, while Detachment Bravo Marines of VMA-214 participated in Humanitarian Operation in East Timor, Indonesia. One month later, Det B was off the coast of Yemen, participating in Operation Determined Response, the recovery of the USS Cole. VMA-214 has twice deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. First time was for the 2003 invasion of Iraq and again from February to August 2004 where they were based out of Al Asad. Today, U.S. Marine Corps Attack Squadron 214 (VMA-214), consisting of AV-8B Harrier (V/STOL) jets, is based at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma, AZ and is attached to Marine Aircraft Group 13 (MAG-13), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (3rd MAW). Back to Goleta At the conclusion of World War II, the U.S. Naval Supplementary Radio Station, with co-located Navy Direction Finding Station was closed by the U.S. Navy in October, 1944. At the end of the war in 1946, the airport was turned over to the City of Santa Barbara and later annexed to that city as their airport. Other parts of the Marine Corps Air Station were turned over to the University of California in Santa Barbara and became their new campus in the Goleta Valley. The site of the former Navy Supplementary Radio Station was turned over the the U.S. Coast Guard. After the war, Goleta Valley residents supported the construction of Cachuma Lake, which provided water enabling a housing boom and the establishment of research and aerospace firms in the area. In 1954, the University of California, Santa Barbara moved to part of the former Marine Air Base. Along with the boom in aerospace, the character changed from rural-agricultural to high-tech. The University of California campus arrived in 1954; In 1956, the first aerospace company campus was constructed on Hollister Avenue by the Studebaker-Packard (later Hewlett-Packard) Corporation. In 1962, the four original buildings were taken over by General Motors and in 1999, are used by the Litton Corporation and Frontier Technology. Many other aerospace companies arrived, and the airport was expanded, changeing the Goleta Valley forever from a prosperous farming region to a high technology research area and an urban bedroom community for neighboring Santa Barbara. Often referred to as "Silicon Beach", Goleta Valley today is characterized by high technology, including diversified electronics, telecommunications, and remote sensing manufacturing industries. The future of Goleta is now in technology and commercial development. Goleta is a community of housing districts, eight shopping areas and small high technology firms. In February 2002, Goleta was incorporated into cityhood. Navy Direction Finding Station, Point Arguello, CA 1938 18 Jun 1943 at Naval Radio Station (NAVRADSTA) Point Arguello, CA Moved to Goleta Naval Supplementary Radio Station (DF), Goleta, CA 19 Jun 1943 Oct 1944 Navy Direction Finding Station, Goleta, CA at the Marine Corps Air Station Goleta, CA Transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard =================================================================================== Grand Isle, Louisianna Grand Isle is a town in Jefferson Parish, located on a barrier island of the same name, on the southern tip of LA Highway 1. The island is at the mouth of Barataria Bay, bordered on the east by Barataria Pass and on the west by Caminada Pass, where it meets the Gulf of Mexico. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 1,541; during summers, the population has increased to over 20,000. Grand Isle's only land connection to the mainland is via an automobile causeway bridge, near the west end of the island, which connects it to southern Lafourche Parish. Also a point of interest, to reach the rest of Jefferson Parish by roadway, one has to travel through two different parishes (Lafourche and St. Charles) through a total distance of about 95 miles. The community consists of both Grand Isle and Cheniere Caminada. The primary businesses for island residents are tourism, the seafood industry, and oilfield related professions. Reputed to be one of the top ten fishing spots in the world, the community offers sandy beaches, crabbing, boating, swimming, surfing, birdwatching, a lighted fishing pier and great seafood. Local business has been mostly centered around the seafood fishing industry, and offshore oil rig activity. The island was virtually formed by the Gulf of Mexico’s wave action and is considered to be a relatively recent geographical development. Though increasing erosion and exposure to various hurricanes have taken a toll on its dwindling width, efforts in recent years have been made to reconstruct it with sand, seareed (beach grass) and some rock-boulder barriers at strategic locations. It is believed that the pirate Henry Morgan had an outpost on Grand Isle, in the mid to late 1600's. And hid some of his loot in the Grand Isle area. The pirate Henry Morgan was one of' the buccaneers who, with the unofficial support of the English government, preyed on Spanish shipping and colonies in the Caribbean. In 1668, the pirate Morgan captured Puerto Principe and sacked Portobelo. He raided Maracaibo in 1669. Morgan's spectacular capture of the city of Panama in 1671 was marked by great brutality and debauchery. Afterward much of the plunder was lost and Morgan's crew claimed that he had cheated them. Morgan was captured and sent back to England in 1672 to answer piracy charges, The pirate Morgan was treated like a home coming hero, knighted, and appointed lieutenant governor of Jamaica, where he lived quietly until he died on Aug. 25th, 1688. As early as the 1730's, it was the French that controlled a string of islands at the entrance of Barataria Bay. Many have it that they gave the island its name, meaning big island, since it spans a little more than eight unbroken miles. Jean Lafitte The pirate Jean Lafitte and his wolfish horde of ruthless cutthroats settled in the region of Barataria Bay around 1809, and had an outpost on Grand Isle. Jean Lafitte, was a freebooter and fugitive, who helped U.S. forces in the Battle of New Orleans, at the end of the War of 1812. In 1814, the British attempted to procure Lafitte's assistance in attacking New Orleans. Instead he passed their plans onto the Americans. In November of 1814, while Jean Lafitte was in New Orleans, Governor Claiborne and Commodore Patterson of the U.S. Navy destroyed Jean Lafitte's settlement on Barataria island now known as Grand Terre island, with a fleet of gunboats. After all that, Jean Lafitte still helped Andrew Jackson defend the City of New Orleans in January 1815. Even though Jean Lafitte was given amnesty, Governor Claiborne and Commodore Patterson still pursued him. Jean Lafitte left the region and was never seen again. Most of Jean Lafitte's loot was buried in small caches throughout the Grand Isle region. Very little of Lafitte's plunder has been recovered. Grand Isle Plantations GSugarcane plantations began on Grand Isle around 1820. The Krantz Plantation was converted to the Krantz Resort Hotel after the Civil War, and destroyed by a hurricane in 1893. The Encalada Plantation, owned by Valentin Encalada also cultivated sugarcane. Encalada's property was probably the first sugarcane plantation on Grand Isle. In 1829 Encalada sold his property. to another sugar- cane planter, Samuel Britton Bennett, who resumed cultivation around 1831. Bennett sold the plantation to his brother, Henry Lyle Bennett in 1836. In 1837, he sold it to James Ramage of New Orleans. Upon Ramage's death in 1840, his property and equipment was valued at $41,000. The bank took over, and sold everything to the highest bidder, Noel Barthelemy Le Breton at $17,000. Le Breton divided his land into 43 lots and sold them. In 1841, Fernando de Colmenero and Mariano Ribas purchased part of Le Breton's property that was adjacent to their own. In the center of Grand Isle, Barataria Plantation was the largest to be cultivated in the island. During the 1830's, the owners expanded their land holdings across Grand Isle. In 1848, Juan Ignacio de Egana, owner of Rienzi Plantation in Thibodaux, bought Barataria from Ribas and Coimenero. In the mid to late 1850's, Egana was forced to plant cotton on his property because of financial reasons. Upon his death in 1860, the value of his plantation was $148,190. The property was sold over and over again, creating smaller tracts of land, bought by visitors and used for bathing resorts. Grand Isle in the 1800's Grand Isle was discovered by the privileged class of New Orleans in about 1860. They later came by luxury steam boats to bathe in the soothing Gulf water, to fish, and to escape the day to day hustle and bustle of the city. In the 1870's and 1880's, fishermen and business people from all over arrived and sailors 'jumped ship' for the opportunities Grand Isle offered. Some were on the run, which made them seek out this secluded island retreat. By 1890, Grand Isle was a prosperous fishing and agricultural center. From the late 1870's, to the end of World War II, in 1945, the cucumber was the big cash crop. In 1889, more than three million dollars worth of cucumbers was harvested from the gardens of Grand Isle. Huey P. Long >From the late 1920s, until 1935, the political enemies of Huey P. Long held clandestine meetings on Grand Isle. Huey P. Long was governor and political boss of Louisiana in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He was assassinated at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on September 8th, 1935, by Dr. Carl Weiss. Weiss was then killed by Long's bodyguards. Long was a powerful southern politician, who had consolidated his hold on Louisiana, after successfully fighting off impeachment charges in 1929, and had developed presidential ambitions. >From the late 1940's to the mid 1960's, Grand Isle was Las Vegas, Daytona Beach and Atlantic City all rolled up into one. And then in September of 1965, Hurricane Betsy flattened every Dance Hall, Casino and Pleasure Palace in Grand Isle. From the late 1960's to about 1989, Grand Isle was in the glory days of the oil boom. Barataria Bay Light Barataria Bay Lighthouse station was established in 1857, near New Orleans. An octagonal brick tower was built at the site. That light was destroyed in a hurricane in 1893. In 1897, a 66 foot tall, square pyramidal skeletal tower was built and the fourth order Fresnel light was first lit. The light was automated in 1973, and is currently an operational U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation. U.S. Coast Guard station Grand Isle The U.S. Coast Guard station on Grand Isle is located midway between Caminada Pass and Barataria Pass and 3 3/4 miles southwest of Barataria Bay Light. The land was obtained by the U.S. Government in 1919, and the station was built in 1919, the it is still in operation. In 1919, the first Coast Guard unit in the Grand Isle area was commissioned as the Barataria Bay Station. In 1960, the first 82 foot cutter assigned to Grand Isle was U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Point Young (WPB 82303) stationed there from 1960 to 1965. In 1923, a Navy Direction Finding Station was established on Grand Isle, LA, at a collocated U.S. Naval Radio Station. The Radio Station and the Directing Finding Station were collocated with the U.S. Coast Guard Station on Grand Isle island, near the Barataria Bay Lighthouse. The Direction Finding Station was replaced by a beacon after World War II, and the Naval Radio Station was closed in 1945. In 1965, the USCGC Point Young was assigned to Coast Guard Squadron One, Division 11 and deployed to Vietnam from 1965 to 1970. On March 16, 1979, USCGC Point Young was decommissioned as a Coast Guard cutter and transferred to South Vietnam as HQ 714. In 1966, the second 82 foot cutter assigned to Grand Isle was Point Sal (WPB 82352) commissioned on December 5, 1966 and served the Grand Isle area for the next 35 years. Coast Guard Station Grand Isle is situated on the eastern end of a barrier island which protects the mainland marsh area from erosion by the Gulf of Mexico. The original tract of land, partly salt marsh, consisting of 24.8 acres, was acquired in 1965. Sand fill to bring the area to 3.5 feet above mean sea level was trucked in from the beach side of the property. This area is naturally replenished by the littoral drift in the Gulf. The beach area is now the site of Grand Isle State Park. In 1965, Hurricane Betsy created a crevasse across the corner of the Coast Guard property, pointing out the need for shoreline protection. This was corrected in 1970. The eastern shoreline is now stabilized, but on the northern side, the Coast Guard lost about 2 acres to erosion by January, 1983. The current USCG Station of Grand Isle was commissioned on November 1, 1968 and was designated as part of Coast Guard Group Grand Isle, which also included a LORAN "A" Station and Rescue Small Boat Station. Coast Guard Group Grand Isle had operational and administrative control of USCGC Point Sal, homeported and collocated with U.S. Coast Guard Station Grand Isle, USCGC Point Lookout (WPB 82341) homeported in Pascagoula, MS, and Aids to Navigation Teams (ANTs) Dulac, LA and Berwick, LA. The LORAN Station was closed on December 31, 1980. In 1987, the Coast Guard made an administrative consolidation of the units in this area and reassigned all units to Coast Guard Group New Orleans. On July 2, 1987, the USCG Group Grand Isle was decommissioned, and USCG Station Grand Isle and USCGC Point Sal were administratively transferred to USCG Group New Orleans. The USCGC Point Sal was decommissioned and transferred to Columbia on May 29, 2001, as part of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, designed to transfer to foreign nations excess boats and cutters that have been decommissioned or other wise removed from service. The Point Sal was replaced by the 87-foot USCGC Sturgeon (WPB 87336), which was commissioned on September 28, 2001. The U.S. Coast Guard Station Grand Isle is currently billeted for 41 active duty personnel (1 commissioned officer and 40 enlisted members) and 4 enlisted reservists. The station operates one 47-foot Motor Life Boat (MLB), one 41-foot Utility Boat (UTB), one 23-foot SAFE boat, and one 18-foot Majek flat boat. The station's primary missions are Search and Rescue, Homeland Security, and Law Enforcement operations. The base encompasses 29 acres and 35,000 square feet of operational and multi-purpose buildings. Grand Isle has been repeatedly pummelled by hurricanes throughout its history. On average, Grand Isle has been affected by tropical storms or hurricanes every 2.68 years since 1877, with hurricane direct hits on average every 7.88 years. Some of the more severe were: In 1860, a 6 foot storm surge and great winds resulted in the total devastation of the island. In the 1893 Atlantic hurricane season, Grand Isle was devastated by a 16 foot storm surge. The 1893 hurricane killed over 2,000 people. In the 1909 Atlantic hurricane season, the island was hit with a second 16 foot storm surge. A Category 4 hurricane devastated Grand Isle on 29 September 29. 1915. Grand Isle was hit by a 3.6 foot storm surge on 22 August 22, 1947. In 1956, Hurricane Flossy damaged the island. Grand Isle was hit by Hurricane Betsy in September of 1965. Tropical Storm Frances put the entire island under water in 1998. On September 26, 2002, Grand Isle was hit by Hurricane Isidore. Hurricane Katrina hit Grand Isle very hard, on August 28-29, 2005, destroying or damaging homes and camps along the entire island. Katrina's surge reached 5 ft at Grand Isle. Large waves severely damaged the only bridge linking Grand Isle to the mainland. A news report published less than two days after the hurricane hit falsely noted, however, that the area had been completely destroyed. Less than a month later, Grand Isle was further affected by Hurricane Rita. By mid October, 2005, a number of businesses were again open on the island. Grand Isle State Park Grand Isle State Park, on the east end of the island, is the only state-owned and operated beach on the Louisiana Gulf Coast, a beach frequented by people from the Greater New Orleans area. The Grand Isle State Park is a natural haven on the most popular barrier island off the coast of Louisiana. A beach ridge created by the action of the waves of the Gulf, Grand Isle serves as a breakwater between the Gulf and the network of inland channels that connect to the bayou tributaries of the Mississippi River. It is also the launching point for excellent deep-sea salt-water fishing. Fort Livingston The ruins of Fort Livingston are located on Grand Terre Island across Barataria Pass from Grand Isle, is located directly across the inlet from Grand Isle State Park. Pirates were forced off this island in 1814. Although a fort at that location had been planned since before the Battle of New Orleans, and was named in plans as the Fort on Grande Terre Island until 1833, construction of Fort Livingston did not begin until 1841. Fort Livingston was built over a fort, previously constructed by Jean Lafitte. Fort Livingston was built to defend New Orleans from forces attacking from Barataria Bay, south of the city. Like so many other forts in the area, it never saw battle. Confederate forces occupied it for a while, and abandoned it after the fall of New Orleans. Fort Livingston is another of the New Orleans fortifications that can only be accessed by boat. The Fort was placed in a caretaker staus in 1866, and the guns were removed in 1872. Fort Livingston was abandoned after a hurricane destroyed most of the structures in 1893. Navy Direction Finding Station, Grand Isle, LA 1923 Post WWII at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Grand Isle, LA 1923 1945 =================================================================================== Grand Marais, Upper Peninsula, Michigan The village of Grand Marais is located on the south shore of Lake Superior at the eastern gateway to Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore. Grand Marais is in Michigan's upper peninsula, 60 miles northeast of Munising, 25 miles north of Seney (its nearest neighbor), and 45 miles northwest of Newberry. "Big Marsh" is the direct translation of the French "Grand Marais." While the name was given by European explorers in the early seventeenth century, many subsequent observers were puzzled, since no marshes have ever been known to exist here. However, it is believed that the early French explorers had their own unique vocabulary, and it is likely that "Marais" referred to a cove, or harbor of refuge. Chippewa Indians lived or camped at the Grand Marais harbor for many years before the coming of the Europeans. It was the setting of many legends. This location was one of several places along Lake Superior that seem to have had special significance to the Chippewa people. The first French explorers are thought to have visited Grand Marais in 1619. However, there is no written record of their visit. In 1658, Pierre Esprit Radisson and Sieur de Grossiliers were brought to Grand Marais harbor by Indians. The historical importance trapping to the area is indisputable. Both the Hudson's Bay Company and John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company maintained a presence in the area over two centuries. But it was not until Peter Barbeau established a trading post on the bay in 1861, that a permanent settlement began to appear. While the fur trade declined, lumber camps began to spring up along Lake Superior's south shore, and Grand Marais soon found itself in the center of a lumbering boom, with stacks of lumber on its docks awaiting the arrival of vessels to carry the forest's bounty to the southern lakes. With the associated increase in maritime traffic through the late 1870's, the absence of a safe haven for mariners coasting the treacherous waters between Whitefish Bay and Grand Island, became a matter of grave concern to maritime interests. Deducing that the natural harbor could be modified to serve as an excellent harbor of refuge, the Army Corps of Engineers embarked on an ambitious harbor improvement project at Grand Marais in 1881. Work continued over the following ten years, with the construction of a 5,770-foot timber pile breakwater stretching across the bay from Lonesome Point to a dredged channel at the western shore. Two protective piers were constructed on each side of the channel, and the protected harbor area dredged to a depth of 40 feet, allowing access to the protection of the harbor by the largest vessels of the day. As the forests close to the shore were lumbered-out, operations moved west where timber could still be harvested easily, and the Grand Marais mill ceased operations in 1884. With the closing of the mill, the town's population decreased dramatically, and turned to fishing to support itself, with Grand Marais eventually becoming one of Lake Superior's leading bluefin fisheries. With the Corps of Engineers work on the harbor of refuge nearing completion in 1892, the Lighthouse Board determined that inbound navigation would be improved significantly with the erection of a light and fog bell on the west pierhead. To this end, the Board's annual report to Congress of that year included a request for an appropriation of $15,000 for a second light. The Manistique Railroad was completed to Grand Marais in 1893, and with the resultant conduit for transporting lumber from the virgin forests of interior, the town experienced another period of rapid growth. The old mill was reactivated, enlarged and outfitted with the latest equipment, and the harbor was once again filled with lumber hookers, their decks stacked perilously high to transport the lumber to feed the insatiable appetite of the rapidly growing industrialized cities to the south. In 1899, Grand Marais was in its peak population years. The lumber camps and mills were thriving, and there was an active commercial fishing industry. The population was well over 2000, with probably another thousand people working in the lumbering camps surrounding the town. The harbor teemed with ships bringing in goods and people and taking out finished lumber products from the mills. A daily train ran from Seney and connected with other lines, leading all across the nation. An active business community provided all kinds of services to the workers and their families. At the turn of the century, in 1900, Grand Marais had doctors, lawyers, bankers, photo- graphers, a hospital, an opera house, social clubs, good schools for the many children, hotels, boarding houses, restaurants, department stores, livery stables, churches, and even a cigar maker shop. In 1911, the lumber companies decided it was time to move on, and in May announced that the railroad would close in November. Residents packed their bags, locked their houses, and caught the train out. By 1915 there only about 200 people left in the almost-abandoned town. Later in 1911, a fire destroyed most of the business buildings along Lake Street. The wheels of the government machine turned slowly, and the Congress was not forth- coming with the requested appropriation for the pierhead light until March 2, 1895. However, the Lighthouse Board reacted quickly to the appropriation, with plans and specifications for a skeleton iron tower and elevated walk drawn-up, and the awarding of contracts for fabrication of the tower's components. The original cost estimate included funds for the purchase of a new fog-bell and striking mechanism, however with the upgrading of the fog signal at Point Iroquois from a bell to a steam-whistle being undertaken that same year, the old Iroquois bell and mechanism was shipped to Grand Marais for use in the new tower. Construction on the pierhead began in the summer of 1895, with the bolting of the tower's framework onto the pier. Upon completion in November, 1895, the new white painted tower stood thirty-four feet tall, its octagonal iron lantern housing a sixth-order fixed white Fresnel lens. The station's first keeper arrived, and he exhibited the light for the first time on the night of December 10, 1895. Since no dwelling had been constructed to accompany the station, the first keeper constructed a temporary shanty on the Corps of Engineers property, at the end of the west pier. the project was brought in significantly under budget. Realizing that a second light to form a rear range for the pierhead light would further improve navigation into the harbor, the Lighthouse Board requested that the unexpended portion of the appropriation be applied to the construction of a rear range light, to be located at the inner end of the west pier. Congress approved the redirection of the balance on June 4, 1897, and the contract was awarded on September 27, 1897. The contractor delivered the ironwork at the Detroit depot that November, however with winter setting in, work did not begin at site until June of 1898, when the lighthouse tender Amaranth delivered a work crew and materials on the pier at Grand Marais. After the installation of strengthening timbers at the inner end of the pier to support the additional weight, the prefabricated tower was erected and painted white to match the pierhead light. Standing 55 feet in height, with an octagonal iron lantern, the lights were exhibited together for the first time on July 15, 1898. With traffic exploding along the south shore, the frequency of maritime accidents increased proportionally. To help guard the safety of mariners, construction of a U.S. Lifesaving Station began in 1898, at the foot of the west pier, 1/3 mile south of Grand Marais Harbor of Refuge Outer Light. On its completion in 1899, the station was considered one of the finest in all of the Great Lakes, boasting 2 surf boats, a 34-foot self-righting life boat, and a full complement of beach apparatus. On January 28, 1915, Congress combined the Revenue Cutter Service and the U.S. Lifesaving Service to form the Coast Guard. The U.S Coast Guard Staton Grand Marais is now the National Park Maritime Museum, which is located on Coast Guard Point. in 1908, Congress appropriated $5,000 to build the keepers dwelling, and a contract was quickly awarded for the dwelling's construction. Work on the structure began on June 10, 1908, and was completed on September 5, 1908. The temporary shanty built by the first keeper was abandoned. It ended-up serving the Grand Marais keepers for thirteen years. Lumbering and commercial fishing waned on the south shore over the next twenty years, and the number of commercial vessels entering Grand Marais harbor steadily declined. The construction of the MacArthur Lock at the Soo in 1943, allowed larger vessels to enter Lake Superior, and they were able to stay at sea longer, in foul weather that would have sent the smaller vessels of the past scurrying for shelter. Grand Marais harbor became of decreased commercial importance. The Corps of Engineers stopped maintaining the breakwater during the 1940's, and without the constant care, the wooden structure quickly rotted away. Thus unprotected, the harbor began to fill with sand, making entry possible only for smaller vessels. On July 1, 1939, the U.S. Lighthouse Service was incorporated into the U.S Coast Guard. The lighthouse was automated in 1982, the station keeper's dwelling was closed, and the last keeper departed. The Grand Marais Historical Society was granted ownership of the keeper's house in 1984, and began its restoration. Today, the Grand Marais Harbor is frequented by pleasure craft, and the town is undergoing a resurgence as it gains popularity as a four-season resort area. Both ranges are still in place, however the lantern has been removed from the front range, and was replaced by a modern acrylic lens. The keepers dwelling now serves as a museum operated by the Grand Marais Historical Society, and is open to the public from June to September. Navy Direction Finding Station, Grand Marais, MI at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Grand Marais, MI =================================================================================== Grays Harbor, Washington Grays Harbor is a county located in Washington State, on the Pacific Ocean coast. As of 2000, the population was 67,194. The county seat is at Montesano, and its largest city is Aberdeen. The county is named after Grays Harbor, a large estuarine bay located 45 miles north of the mouth of the Columbia River, on the southwest Pacific coast of Washington State. The bay is 15 miles long and 11 miles wide. The Chehalis River flows into its eastern end, where the city of Aberdeen stands at that river's mouth, on its north bank, with the somewhat smaller city of Hoquiam immediately to its northwest, along the bayshore. Besides the Chehalis, many lesser rivers and streams flow into Grays Harbor, such as the Humptulips River. A pair of low peninsulas separate it from the Pacific Ocean, except for an opening about two miles in width. The northern peninsula, which is largely covered by the community of Ocean Shores, ends in Point Brown. Facing that across the bay-mouth is Point Chehalis, at the end of the southern peninsula upon which stands the town of Westport. Grays Harbor County was formed out of Thurston County on April 14, 1854. Originally named Chehalis County, it took its present name in 1915. Grays Harbor Bay is named after Captain Robert Gray, who discovered and entered the bay on May 7, 1792, in the course of his fur-trading voyages along the north Pacific coast of North America. Gray named the bay Bullfinch Harbor, but it was afterward named Grays Harbor by Captain George Vancouver, who also explored the region. The ships of the two captains had met at sea, only days earlier. A few days later, on May 11, 1792, Gray found a navigable channel into the estuary of the Columbia River, and sailed into it, the first white man to do so. Grays Harbor Bay is a broad, shallow bay that drains five rivers. The dense forests of spruce, hemlock, cedar, and Douglas fir attracted loggers and mill operators and at the turn of the twentieth century, communities such as Aberdeen, Hoquiam, Cosmopolis, and Montesano flourished. Immigrant wage earners flooded in to harvest green gold. One hundred years later, the county struggled to reinvent itself without logging, milling, and fishing. The Native Americans who were shoved aside by the settlers re-emerged with self-government and new enterprises. The original residents of what would become Chehalis, then Grays Harbor County, were members of the Quinault Tribe along the coast north of Grays Harbor and the Chehalis of the lower Chehalis River drainage. Other tribes in the area included the Queets, Humptulips, Satsop, Wynoochee, and Copalis. By Quinault tradition, the Great Spirit called all the animals together and described how he would place humans on the earth. These he called Quinault. The Chehalis, Quinault, and Hoh tribes spoke the Coast Salish language, closely related to other Salishan language groups in the Northwest, but unlike the Chinooks to the south or the Hoh and Makah to the north. All the tribes also used a trade jargon called Chinook. The Grays Harbor area tribes lived in permanent villages along rivers and lakes. Water defined their economic and cultural lives. They harvested salmon as the anadromous species swam upstream to spawn, as well as whales and seals along the coast. In the summers, hunters ranged inland and into the Olympic Mountains for game and to trade with other tribal groups. The Indians developed a high degree of skill with canoes carved from cedar trees in a variety of specialized designs adapted to swift-flowing rivers, broad estuaries, and the sea. The largest village in the area was at the mouth of the Quinault River, and was so named by English fur trader Charles William Barkley in 1787. This later became Tahola after Taxola, the Quinault chief in 1855. The Quinault's first contact with Spanish explorers in 1775 near Grenville Point, ended in the deaths of seven Spaniards and as many as seven Indians. The Indians had traded peacefully with the explorers, but turned on them after the Spaniards landed, erected a cross, and claimed the land for the Spanish king. The reason for the sudden attack remains unexplained, but tribal historians have offered the possibility that the Europeans had violated a women's safe haven. The coastal tribes traded with and raided upon their neighbors and the acquisition and traffic in slaves pervaded the indigenous cultures. Contact with Europeans and the frequent interaction between tribes accelerated the several epidemics that swept the region beginning with smallpox in the 1770s and continuing with what was likely malaria in 1829, cholera in 1836, and smallpox again in 1853. The native population dropped from thousands to a few dozen. So many Chinooks died around Willapa Bay in the 1850s that the Chehalis moved in to take their place. In 1855, the Quinault, Hoh, Queets, and Quileute tribes signed the Quinault River Treaty with the Washington Territorial Governor Isaac I. Stevens (1818-1862) ceding 1.2 million acres of the Olympic Peninsula to the U.S in exchange for a common reservation and fishing rights. The reservation was expanded by Congress in 1873, but the practice of granting allotments to individual tribal members resulted in 93 percent of the reservation passing into non-Indian hands (alienation). Non-treaty Chinook, Chehalis, and Cowlitz tribal members were also allowed to apply for allotments, which were often then sold to timber companies. On March 22, 1975, the members formed the Quinault Indian Nation with headquarters in Taholah. The Chehalis Tribe received a 4,214-acre reservation in eastern Chehalis County in 1864 near what would become Oakville. In 2003, this was 1,952 acres governed by the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation. On May 7, 1792, Boston fur trader Robert Gray crossed the bar into the bay he called Bullfinch Harbor, but which later cartographers would label Chehalis Bay, then Grays Harbor. Irishman John Work (Wark) (b. 1792) of the Hudson's Bay Company explored the area in 1824. U.S. Navy Passed Midshipman Henry Eld Jr., of the U.S. Exploring Expedition under Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, mapped the Chehalis River, Grays Harbor, and the coast down to Cape Disappointment in 1841. Eld was unimpressed with Grays Harbor because of the narrow entrance and its shallow bottom, suitable only for small vessels. In 1880, Charles Stevens converted his water-powered grist mill at Cosmopolis to a sawmill and the following year shipped Grays Harbor's first load of lumber to the world. By 1885, mills opened at Hoquiam and Aberdeen. In 1890, 13 mills filled 256 vessels with 66 million board feet of cut lumber. With mills and shipyards humming along the shore and steam whistles screaming in the woods, Grays Harbor County boomed. Immigrants from all over the world flocked to jobs offering cash wages. But dreadful living and working conditions in the mill towns and logging camps were nearly intolerable. By 1900, Aberdeen and Hoquiam were home to 80 percent of the county's population thanks to their access to the sea for the region's principal product, timber. In 1905, leaders of the two rival communities combined to move the courthouse to one of their cities. This failed, so they campaigned to split the county in two, the west half becoming Grays Harbor County. Beginning in the 1920s, the wood-products industry -- logging, milling, and pulp manufacture -- started a long, slow decline. Most timber was cut from private land and once property was logged off, it was often abandoned to be taken by the County for unpaid taxes. As the old-growth trees were used up, logging companies and the mills gradually closed. The collapse of the housing industry during the Great Depression (1929-1939) left more mills silent. Anticipating the end of old-growth harvests, Weyerhaeuser opened its first tree farm near Montesano in 1941. Congress passed the Forest Practices Act in 1946, which hoped for a sustained yield by managing the harvesting of National Forests in concert with the replanting of private lands. The recession of 1980 to 1985 resulted in automation at older mills and a weak U.S. dollar made British Columbia lumber cheaper than domestic supplies. In the 1980s, federal officials started limiting the sale of trees from public land, to protect the Northwest Spotted Owl. The controversy pitched environmental protection against jobs and communities. The amount of timber cut from public land fell to less than a quarter of its past levels. In the 1990s, protections for the owls were extended to private lands. The government listed salmon as a threatened species in 1999, limiting further areas to be logged. Fishing suffered from depleted runs. From 1976 to 1988, the Coho salmon catch dropped from 1.38 million to 74,000. "Digger trips" for razor clams plummeted from 749,000 in 1967 to 32,000 in 1993. Unemployment in Grays Harbor County hovered at double the state average for the last three decades of the twentieth century. In the 1980s, the county population declined by 3 percent. The Quinault Tribe opened a casino and resort complex at Ocean Shores in 2000. In 2005, Grays Harbor County was home to 69,800 people who were 88 percent white, 5 percent Hispanic, and 5 percent Native American. The Grays Harbor (Westport) Lighthouse is located and the south entrance to Grays Harbor at Point Chehalis. Construction of the Grays Harbor Light was completed on June 30, 1898, and the lighthouse was first lit on that date. The lighthouse is currently operational and was automated in 1992. The tower is octagonal pyramidal, and the day marking is a white tower, with a green roof. Grays Harbor Light is the tallest light in Washington at 107 feet and the focal point of the light is 123 feet above sea level. The first rescue station in the Grays Harbor area was established in the mid-1800's by the U.S. Lifesaving Service. This was the North Cove station, located 10 miles south of Westport. In 1897, construction started on a new Lifesaving Station. It was completed simultaneously with the lighthouse, on June 30, 1898, and it was put into service. In 1898, the lifesaving service moved the facilites to Peterson Point, renaming the station as the Peterson Point Station, located 1/8 mile south of Westport. In 1902, the lifesaving station was again renamed as Grays Harbor Station. The station is located 3 1/2 miles southeast by east of the entrance to Grays Harbor, and 1/4 mile south of Grays Harbor Light. In 1915, the U.S. Lifesaving Service was merged with the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service to become the Coast Guard. In 1939, the Lighthouse Service merged into the Coast Guard. The new Coast Guard Station at Grays Harbor moved to its new location in 1939, on the property of the Port of Grays Harbor. The new facilities were dedicated in 1940. The current Coast Guard Station at Grays Harbor was built and commissioned in 1973. In 1975, the Old Coast Guard Station Grays Harbor was listed on the Washington State Register of Historic Places. In 1984, The Westport-South Beach Historical Society was formed, and the Old Coast Guard Station Grays Harbor building was turned over to its members for use as a maritime museum, which was established in 1985. Navy Direction Finding Site, Grays Harbor, WA (Proposed) Aug 1943 Nov 1943 =================================================================================== Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands Guadalcanal (local name: Isatabu) is a 2,510 square mile island in the Pacific Ocean and a province of the Solomon Islands. The island was the scene of the important Guadalcanal Campaign during World War II. The island, which is mainly jungle, contains the national capital of the Solomon Islands, Honiara, and has a population of 109,382 (1999). Guadalcanal is mountainous. Most of the population is along the north coast. The southern coast is known as the Weather Coast. Rainfall here is very heavy, hence its name. Guadalcanal is infested with mosquitoes, and malaria is an endemic disease. The Solomon Islands form an archipelago in the southwest Pacific Ocean about 1,200 miles northeast of Australia. The Solomon Islands is a nation in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. Together they cover a land mass of 10,965 square miles. The capital is Honiara, located on the island of Guadalcanal. The North Solomon Islands are divided between the independent Solomon Islands and Bougainville Province in Papua New Guinea. The Solomon Islands are believed to have been inhabited by Melanesian people for thousands of years, before a Spanish expedition under Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira, coming from Peru, discovered the island in 1568. It was named by Mendaña's subordinate Pedro de Ortega, after his home town in Andalusia, Guadalcanal. However, he did not spell the name consistently (using variously Guadarcana, Guarcana, and Guadalcana), and the island subsequently became known as Guadalcanar. Later it became part of the British Empire, and in 1932 the British changed the spelling to Guadalcanal. Missionaries began visiting the Solomons in the mid-19th century. They made little progress at first, because "blackbirding" (the often brutal recruitment of laborers for the sugar plantations in Queensland and Fiji) led to a series of reprisals and massacres. The evils of the labor trade prompted the United Kingdom to declare a protectorate over the southern Solomons in 1893. This was the basis of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate. In 1898 and 1899, more outlying islands were added to the protectorate; in 1900 the remainder of the archipelago, an area previously under German jurisdiction, was transferred to British administration apart from the islands of Buka and Bougainville, which remained under German administration as part of German New Guinea (until they were occupied by Australia in 1914, after the commencement of World War I). Traditional trade and social intercourse between the western Solomon islands of Mono and Alu (the Shortlands) and the traditional societies in the south of Bougainville, however, continued without hindrance. Under the protectorate, missionaries settled in the Solomons, converting most of the population to Christianity. In the early 20th century, several British and Australian firms began large-scale coconut planting. Economic growth was slow, however, and the islanders benefited little. With the outbreak of World War II, most planters and traders were evacuated to Australia, and most cultivation ceased. Some of the most intense fighting of World War II occurred in the Solomons. The most significant of the Allied Forces' operations against the Japanese Imperial Forces was launched on August 7, 1942 with simultaneous Naval bombardments and amphibious landings on the Florida Islands at Tulagi and Red Beach on Guadalcanal. The Battle of Guadalcanal became an important and bloody campaign fought in the Pacific War as the Allies began to repulse Japanese expansion. Of strategic importance during the war were the coastwatchers operating in remote locations, often on Japanese held islands, providing early warning and intelligence of Japanese Naval, Army and aircraft movements during the campaign. Sergeant-Major Jacob Vouza was a notable coastwatcher who after capture refused to divulge Allied information in spite of interrogation and torture by Japanese Imperial forces. He was awarded the highest award for bravery by the Americans. Islanders Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana would be noted by National Geographic for being the first to find the shipwrecked John F. Kennedy and his crew of the PT-109. They suggested using a coconut to write a rescue message for delivery by dugout canoe, which was later kept on his desk when he became the President of the United States. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor and Singapore, Japanese forces advanced into the South Pacific occupying many islands in an attempt to build a defensive ring around their conquests and threaten the lines of communication between the U.S. and Australia/New Zealand, reaching Guadalcanal in May, 1942. When the allied forces spotted construction of an airfield on Guadacanal, the U.S. conducted the first amphibious landing of the conflict and one of the most hotly contested campaigns for control of the ground, sea and skies of the war. Guadalcanal became a major turning-point in the war as it stopped Japanese expansion and after four months forced the Japanese to cease trying to contest the control of the island and finally evacuate it in February, 1943. Early in the campaign, U.S. ships would retire at night due to superior night fighting expertise of the Japanese. Immediately after landing on the island, the allies began finishing the airfield begun by the Japanese, named Henderson Field after a Marine Corps aviator killed in combat during the Battle of Midway, and established what became known as the Cactus Air Force. Aircraft operating from Guadalcanal over the campaign were a hodge podge of Marine, Army, Navy and allied aircraft that defended the airfield and threatened any Japanese ships that ventured into the vicinity during the daylight hours. However, at night, Japanese battleships, cruisers and destroyers would venture within shelling range of the airfield on Guadacanal and shell it throughout the night and escape back up the Slot before daybreak when allied aircraft would regain air superiority. So many ships from both sides were sunk in the many engagements in and around the Solomon Island chain that the nearby waters were referred to as Ironbottom Sound. An informative account of the Marine Corps campaign, which began on August 7, 1942, can be found in the historical novel, "Every Shape, Every Shadow" (Pale Horse Books). Many other books and even movies have been written about the Guadalcanal campaign. The Battle of Cape Esperance was fought on October 11, 1942 off the northwest coast of Guadalcanal. In the battle, U.S. Navy ships intercepted and defeated a Japanese formation of ships on their way down 'the Slot' to reinforce and resupply troops on the island, but suffered losses as well. The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November, 1942, marked the turning point in which Allied Naval forces took on the extremely experienced Japanese surface forces at night and forced them to withdraw after sharp action. Some Japanese viewpoints consider these engagements and the improving Allied surface capability to challenge their surface ships at night just as significant as the Battle of Midway in turning the tide against them. After six months of hard combat in and around Guadalcanal and dealing with jungle diseases that took a heavy toll of troops, Allied forces managed to halt the Japanese advance and dissuade them from contesting the control of the island finally driving the last of the Japanese troops into the sea on January 15, 1943. American authorities declared Guadalcanal secure on February 9, 1943. After Guadalcanal, Phase II of the Solomons campaign began in late June 1943, in the Central Solomons. There Admiral Halsey's South Pacific forces, operating under MacArthur's strategic direction, landed on New Georgia, about 200 miles northwest of Guadalcanal, with the main objective seizure of the Munda airfield and driving the Japanese from New Georgia and the surrounding islands. The invasion of New Georgia in June 1943 signaled a new phase of the war, the beginning of a sustained American strategic offensive. The capture of Munda airfield on 5 August still left many Japanese on New Georgia, as well as on the surrounding islands of Arundel, Baanga, Gizo, Kolombangara, and Vella Lavella. These were taken or neutralized by the end of September. Many of the Japanese who had survived Guadalcanal, New Georgia or other Solomon Islands were evacuated to Bougainville as their positions fell to the Allies or were bypassed and cut off. By early October 1943, the Japanese had approximately 37,500 troops on Bougainville and nearby islands. Phase III, the final battle of the Solomons campaign, was the struggle over Bougainville, only 225 miles from Rabaul. A landing 1 November established the Allies on the western side of Bougainville and fighting over the next two months expanded that beachhead and protected the construction of a major airfield that could support the American invasion of the Philippines in October 1944. The Americans had no intention of fighting the Japanese for all of Bougainville, instead waiting for the Japanese to come to them. A powerful Japanese counterattack starting on 9 March 1944 and a series of battles through 23 March were serious failures for the Japanese who sustained losses exceeding 5,000 men. Thereafter, the remaining Japanese were incapable of offensive action and were slowly mopped up, ending the campaign in the Solomons by November 1944. Two U.S. Navy ships have been named for the battle: USS Guadalcanal (CVE-60), a World War II escort carrier; and USS Guadalcanal (LPH-7), an amphibious assault ship. Following the end of World War II, the British colonial government returned. The capital was moved from Tulagi to Honiara to take advantage of the infrastructure left behind by the U.S. military. A revolutionary movement known as Maasina Ruru helped to organize and focus a mass campaign of civil disobedience and strikes across the islands. There was much disorder and the leaders were jailed in late 1948. Throughout the 1950s, other indigenous dissident groups appeared and disappeared without gaining strength. In 1960, an advisory council of Solomon Islanders was superseded by a legislative council, and an executive council was created as the protectorate's policymaking body. The council was given progressively more authority. In 1974, a new constitution was adopted establishing a parliamentary democracy and ministerial system of government. In mid 1975, the name Solomon Islands officially replaced that of British Solomon Islands Protectorate. On January 2, 1976, the Solomons became self-governing, and independence followed on July 7, 1978. The country remains a Commonwealth Realm. The first post-independence government being elected in August 1980. The series of governments formed since have not performed to upgrade and build the country. Following the 1997 election of Bartholomew Ulufa'alu the political situation in the Solomons began to deteriorate. Governance was slipping as the performance of the police and other government agencies deteriorated due to what is commonly known as "the tensions". Since 1998 ethnic violence, government misconduct and crime have undermined stability and civil society. In early 1999 long-simmering tensions between the local Gwale people on Guadalcanal and more recent migrants from the neighbouring island of Malaita, erupted into violence. The ‘Guadalcanal Revolutionary Army’, later called Isatabu Freedom Movement (IFM), began terrorising Malaitans in the rural areas of the island, to make them leave their homes. About 20,000 Malaitans fled to the capital and others returned to their home island; Gwale residents of Honiara fled. The city became a Malaitan enclave and the Malaita Eagle Force took over the government. In June 2003 an Australian-led multinational force, the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI), arrived to restore peace and disarm ethnic militias. In April 2006 allegations that the newly elected Prime Minister Snyder Rini had used bribes from Chinese businessmen to buy the votes of members of Parliament led to mass rioting in the capital Honiara. A deep underlying resentment against the minority Chinese business community led to much of Chinatown in the city being destroyed. Tensions had also been increased by the belief that large sums of money were being exported to China. China sent chartered aircraft to evacuate hundreds of Chinese who fled to avoid the riots. Evacuation of Australian and British citizens was on a much smaller scale. Further Australian, New Zealand and Fijian troops were dispatched to try to quell the unrest. Rini eventually resigned before facing a motion of no-confidence in Parliament, and Parliament elected Manasseh Sogavare as Prime Minister. Navy Direction Finding Station, Guadalcanal, 15 Sep 1942 04 Dec 1944 Solomon Islands Radio Intercept and other operations 05 Nov 1942 Jul 1943 Evacuated to Noumea, New Caledonia Navy Radio Intercept Station, Noumea, New Caledonia Jul 1943 1944 =================================================================================== Hilo, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii In 1941, there was a Naval Radio Station at Hilo, located on the island of Hawaii, the largest island in the Hawaiian chain. In June, 1942, the Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet directed a joint board of Army and Navy officers to submit recommendations for the location of an airfield to support the operation of two carrier groups. After investigating the existing facilities of the Army field at Hilo, the board recommended that it be expanded to meet the Navy needs. Existing installations at Hilo included three runways, 6,500, 6,000, and 3,000 feet long, respectively, storage for 450,000 gallons of gasoline, and revetments for 24 planes. Quarters and messing facilities for 70 officers and 1,200 men and a gasoline pipe line from Hilo Harbor were also available. Construction was undertaken by the 59th Battalion, which arrived during March 1943. Runways were widened from 200 feet to 500 feet, and additional parking areas built. Supplementary gasoline storage, comprising ten 50,000-gallon tanks of prestressed concrete, were constructed underground, and a 500,000-gallon water-storage reservoir was built. In addition, 11 barracks, officers' quarters, 16 storehouses, and other miscellaneous structures for shops and administration purposes were set up. Communication lines, drainage systems, and roads were expanded. Runway surfacing and road building amounted to 800,000 square feet of asphalt paving. Construction was completed in April 1944, and Naval Air Facility Hilo was operational until 1947, Navy Direction Finding Station, Hilo, HI at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Hilo, HI =================================================================================== Hog Island, Virginia Hog Island, Virginia is a barrier island located in Northampton County, off Virginia's Eastern Shore. In 1974, the island was sold to The Nature Conservancy and since 1987, has served as a major ecological research location for the Virginia Coast Reserve Long Term Ecological Research project. Hog Island was a 3,908 acre peninsula that jutted into the waters of the James River. Starting in the mid 1800s, the town of Broadwater, Virginia was located on the southern end of the island, but had to be abandoned in the 1930s, when rapid beach erosion made its continued existence untenable. However, many of the houses and other buildings were floated by barge to the mainland and can be found in Willis Wharf, Virginia and Oyster, Virginia. The first settlement on Hog Island was established in 1672. At that time, the island was named Machipongo. The settlement simply disappeared, never to be heard of again. The island was again settled in the 1700’s. These settlers discovered that they were not alone on the island. They were inundated with hogs, hundreds, if not thousands of them. Where the hogs came from is unknown; there are several theories, one being that they were left by the original colony that had so mysteriously disappeared in the late 1600’s. The first Hog Island Lighthouse tower was built and established in 1853. The tower was a conical white brick structure, painted white, 72 feet above sea level, located on a southwest point of the island, on the north side of Great Machipongo Inlet. The fixed white light was first lit in 1853, with a first order Fresnel lens. Erosion caused severe degradation of the first tower, and a replacement was completed and lit on January 31, 1896. The original first order Fresnel lens was removed from the old tower and placed in the new Hog Island Lighthouse tower. The new structure was a black steel skeletal tower, with a central cylinder. The U.S. Lifesaving Station at Hog Island, Virginia was established in 1875, near the south end of Hog Island, on the west side, 1/2 mile west southwest of the Hog Island Lighthouse. A total of five different buildings were erected on the island between 1875 and 1878. In 1878, the station was moved to a new site, to escape the encroachment of the sea, and the station was abandoned. In the late 1800's, at least five lavish hunting and fishing clubs were established on Virginia's barrier islands; one of the largest was in the town of Broadwater, on Hog Island. The town was located in a pine forest near the middle of the island. At its height, Broadwater had a population of about 300, and contained 50 houses, a school, a church and a cemetery. By the 1930’s, the loss of the island's landmass to beach erosion was nearly critical. During an Army Corp of Engineers inspection, it was noted that the first abandoned lighthouse, although still standing, was surrounded by water, 50 feet off shore. By the summer of 1934, many of the islanders started moving their homes from the island to the mainland, on barges. One of the worst hurricanes to hit the U.S. struck Hog Island in 1938, most likely causing the collapse of the island’s first lighthouse tower. The hurricane inundated all of Hog Island, destroying much of the town and killing the protective pine forest. Many of the buildings still left on the island were destroyed or heavily damaged. After the storm, only Coast Guard personnel remained on the island. By the early 1940's, all inhabitants had left the island. The former site of the town was under several meters of water, and hundreds of meters from the shore. By the mid 1940's, the second lighthouse tower and site were under water. The U.S. Coast Guard deactivated the lighthouse in March, 1948, and the tower was demolished using 350 pounds of TNT. Today the entire area is totally underwater and the island is completely uninhabited. The 10-foot high first order Fresnel lens, was removed from the lighthouse before the final destruction of the facility. The lens was eventually sent to the Newport News Mariners Museum, where it was on exhibit for 24 years. The lens itself is about ten feet tall and weighs 2,500 pounds. It is made up of 368 prisms, and is valued at $750,000 to $1 million. The only lens presently in use in the U.S. that is larger, is the hyper-radial lens at Makapu’u Point in Hawaii. In 1964, the Lighthouse Station's land was turned over to the GSA for disposition. In November, 2004, the Hog Island Lighthouse first order lens was loaned to the City of Portsmouth, VA. A new glass enclosed pavilion was built to display the lens, on the Portsmouth Seawall, on Portsmouth's Elizabeth River waterfront, directly across the river from the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. This is a rare case of a Fresnel lens on display outside of a museum setting. Navy Direction Finding Station, Hog Island, VA at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Hog Island, VA =================================================================================== Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, Ogasawara Islands, Japan Iwo Jima is a volcanic island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which makes up the southern end of the Ogasawara Islands. The island is located 650 nautical miles south of mainland Tokyo, and 702 nautical miles north of Guam, approximately halfway between Tokyo and Saipan. Iwo Jima is administered as part of the prefecture of Tokyo. In June, 2007 the island was officially renamed Iwo To, a name that had been used by local residents before the war. It is famous as the site of the February-March 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima between the U.S. and Japan during World War II, when the iconic photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima was taken. The U.S. occupied Iwo Jima until 1968, when it was returned to Japan. Today, Iwo Jima has no permanent civilian population, but has an air base operated by the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF). The Volcano Islands group of the Ogasawara Islands is comprised of Iwo Jima (Io-jima or Sulpher Island), North Iwo Jima (Kita-io-jima or North Sulphur Island), 80 kilometers north of Iwo Jima; and South Iwo Jima (Minami-io-jima or South Sulphur Island), 60 kilometers south of Iwo Jima. Just south of Minamiiojima are Guam and the Marianas Islands. Before World War II, Iwo Jima was administered (as it is today) by the prefectural government of Tokyo. A census in June 1943 reported an island civilian population of 1018 in 192 households in six settlements. The island had a primary school, a shinto shrine, and a single police officer; it was serviced by a mail ship from Haha-jima once a month, as well as a Nippon Yusen ship once every two months. The island's economy relied upon sulphur mining, sugarcane farming, and fishing. An isolated island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with poor economic prospect, Iwo Jima had to import all rice and consumer goods from the Home Islands. Even before the beginning of World War II, there was a garrison of the Imperial Japanese Navy at the southern part of Iwo Jima. It was off-limits to the island's civilian population, who had little contact with the Naval personnel in any case, except for trade purposes. Throughout 1944, there was a massive military buildup on Iwo Jima, in anticipation of an American invasion; in July, 1944, the civilian population was forcibly evacuated, and no civilians have settled permanently on the island ever since. The Battle of Iwo Jima took place between the U.S. and Japan in February and March 1945 during the Pacific Campaign of World War II. The U.S. invasion, known as Operation Detachment, was charged with the mission of capturing the airfields on Iwo Jima. The battle was marked by some of the fiercest fighting of the campaign. The Imperial Japanese Army positions on the island were heavily fortified, with vast bunkers, hidden artillery, and 11 miles of tunnels. The battle was the first American attack on the Japanese Home Islands and the Imperial soldiers defended their positions tenaciously. Of the 21,000 Japanese soldiers present at the beginning of the battle, over 20,000 were killed and only 216 taken prisoner. The Allied forces suffered 27,909 casualties, with 6,825 killed in action. The number of American casualties was greater than the total Allied casualties on D-Day (estimated at 10,000, compared with 125,847 American casualties during the entire Battle of Normandy). Iwo Jima was also the only U.S. Marine battle where the American casualties exceeded the Japanese. On April 5, 1945, the U.S. Naval Advanced Air Base, Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands was established. Also in April, 1945, the U.S. Naval Supplementary Radio Station (DF RI) Iwo Jima was established. The U.S. Navy Direction Finding Station at Tarawa Atoll, which closed on November 27, 1944, moved to Iwo Jima in April, 1945. After World War II, the DF Station and the Supplementary Radio Station were closed in December, 1945. After the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945, the U.S. occupied Iwo Jima until 1968, when it was returned to Japan. The Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) operates a Naval Air Base on the island. The airstrip is 8,700 feet long and 6200 feet wide. The JMSDF is in charge of support, air-traffic control, fueling, and rescue. The Japan Air Self Defense Force also utilizes the base. The Japan Ground Self Defense Force is in charge of explosive-ordnance disposal. 400 Japanese troops live on the island. The U.S. Navy also utilizes the base for field carrier landing practice (FCLP) drills. Naval Supplementary Radio Station (DF RI) Iwo Jima, Apr 1945 Dec 1945 Volcano Islands, JA Navy Direction Finding Station, Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands JA Moved from Navy Direction Finding Station, Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands =================================================================================== Jan Mayen Island, Norway Jan Mayen Island, a part of the Kingdom of Norway, is a 34 mile long (southwest- northeast) and 144 miles in area, arctic volcanic island, in the Arctic Ocean; between the Greenland Sea and the Norwegian Sea. Partly covered by glaciers, it has two parts: larger Nord-Jan and smaller Sør-Jan, linked by an isthmus 1.6 miles wide. It lies about 400 miles northeast of Iceland, about 300 miles east of Greenland and about 600 miles west of the Norwegian mainland. The island is mountainous, the highest summit being the Beerenberg volcano in the north. The isthmus is the location of the two largest lakes of the island, Sørlaguna (South Lagoon), and Nordlaguna (North Lagoon). A third lake is called Ullerenglaguna (Ullereng Lagoon). The first certain discovery of the island is from 1614. The English whaler John Clarke, sailing for a Dunkirk firm, had observed the island on June 28, 1614, while hunting Greenland right whales (now called bowhead whales) and named it Isabella. In January the 'Northern Company' (Noordsche Compagnie), modeled on the Dutch East India Company, had been established to support Dutch whaling in the Arctic. Two of its ships, financed by merchants from Amsterdam and Enkhuizen, reached Jan Mayen in July 1614. In 1615, Robert Fotherby went ashore, apparently thinking it a new discovery and naming the island Sir Thomas Smith’s Island and the volcano 'Mount Hackluyt'. Jean Vrolicq, a French Basque whaler, who was active in the Spitsbergen fishery at least as early as 1618, renamed the island Île de Richelieu. There are earlier claims and possible discoveries, even as early as the sixth century. Some historians believe that an Irish monk, Brendan, who was known as a good sailor, was close to Jan Mayen in the early sixth century. He came back from one of his voyages and reported that he had been close to a black island, which was on fire, and that there was a terrible noise in the area. He thought that he might have found the entrance to hell. The land named Svalbarð ("cold coast") by the vikings in the early medieval Landnámabók may have been Jan Mayen (instead of Spitsbergen, which was renamed Svalbard by the Norwegians in modern times); the distance from Iceland to Svalbarð mentioned in that book is two days sailing, consistent with the "530 km to Jan Mayen" and not with the 1550 km to Spitsbergen. The knowledge of Jan Mayen likely disappeared along with the viking colonies on Greenland, around the 14th century. In the 17th century many claims of the island's rediscovery were made, spurred by the rivalry on the Arctic whaling grounds, and the island received many names. According to Thomas Edge, an early 17th century whaling captain, who was often inaccurate, William (sic) Hudson discovered the island in 1608 and named it Hudson's Touches (or Tutches). Edge also suggested that Thomas Marmaduke, a Hull whaling captain, saw the island in 1612 and named it Trinity Island. There is no cartographical or written proof for either of these "discoveries". Jan Mayen first appeared on Willem Jansz Blaeu’s 1620 edition map of Europe, originally published by Cornelis Doedz in 1606. He named it Jan Mayen after Dutch Sea Captain, Jan Mayen, of the Amsterdam-financed Gouden Cath; who had a whaling base on the island between 1611 and 1635. Blaeu made a first detailed map of the island in his famous 'Zeespiegel' atlas of 1623, establishing its current name. >From 1614 to 1638, Jan Mayen was used as a whaling base by the Dutch Noordsche Compagnie, which had effectively monopolized whaling in most of the Arctic Sea over those years. It took ships about three weeks to reach the island from the Netherlands. By 1616, 200 men were seasonally living and working on the island, and over ten Dutch ships hunted in the bays of the island each year. By the 1620s, six whaling stations had been established (spread along the NW coast), with wooden storehouses and dwellings and large brick furnaces, and two fortresses with batteries to protect the stations. The Greenland right whale was locally hunted to near extinction around 1640 (approximately 1000 had been killed and processed on the island); at which time Jan Mayen was abandoned and stayed uninhabited for two-and-a-half centuries, visited only occasionally by seal hunters and trappers. In 1882-1883, an Austro-Hungarian expedition stayed one year at Jan Mayen and performed extensive mapping of the area, their maps being used until the 1950s. Between 1900 and 1920, there were also a number of Norwegian trappers, spending the winters on Jan Mayen, hunting white and blue foxes, in addition to some polar bears. But the exploitation soon made the profits decline, and the hunting ended. The first meteorological station was opened in 1921 by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, who annexed the island in 1922 for Norway. By law of February 27, 1930, the island was made part of the Kingdom of Norway. During World War II, Jan Mayen was not occupied by the Germans, as continental Norway was in 1940; but still the meteorologists chose to burn down the station. In 1941, they returned with soldiers to rebuild the station. In November, 1942, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter, USS Northland (as a U.S. Navy auxillary vessel) landed a party of 41 officers and men and 30 tons of equipment on Jan Mayen Island to set up a U.S. Navy High Frequency Direction Finder Station. The Coast Guardsmen also set up a small battery of anti-aircraft machine guns. In November, 1943, the U.S. Naval Supplementary Radio Station with a co-located High Frequency Direction Finder Station, was established at Jan Mayen Island. The radio locating station was trying to locate German radio bases on Greenland. The Sailors and Coast Guardsmen stationed on Jan Mayen, nicknamed the base "Atlantic City". After World War II, in December, 1945, the U.S. Naval Supplementary Radio Station and co-located High Frequency Direction Finder Station at Jan Mayen was closed, and the U.S. Navy departed the island. The meteorological station, located at Atlantic City from 1921, moved in 1949 to a new location. Radio Jan Mayen also served as an important radio station for ship traffic in the Arctic Ocean. In 1959, NATO decided to build the Loran-C network in the Atlantic Ocean, and one of the transmitters was located on Jan Mayen Island. By 1961, the new military installations, including a new air field was operational. In 1970, the long dormant Haakon VII Toppen/Beerenberg volcano erupted. During the three to four weeks that the eruption lasted, another 1.2 square miles of land mass was added to the island. Beerenberg erupted again in 1973 and in 1985, the last eruption to date. During an eruption, the sea temperature around the island may increase from just over 32º fahrenheit to about 86° fahrenheit. Beerenberg is the northernmost active volcano on earth. Jan Mayen is an integrated geographical body of Norway. A dispute between Norway and Denmark regarding the fishing exclusion zone between Jan Mayen and Greenland was settled in 1988 granting Denmark with the greater area of sovereignty. Since 1995, it has been administered by the County Governor (fylkesmann) of the Norwegian county of Nordland; however, some authority has been delegated to the station commander of the Norwegian Logistics Organization, a unit of the Norwegian Defense Communications Service, and a branch of the Royal Norwegian Defense Force. The island has no indigenous population. The only inhabitants on the island are personnel working for the Royal Norwegian Defense Force or the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. There are eighteen people who spend the winter on the island, but the population often doubles during the summer, when heavy maintenance is performed. Personnel serve either six months or one year, and are exchanged twice a year in April and October. The main purpose of the military personnel is to operate a Long Range Navigation (Loran-C) base. The support crew, including mechanics, cooks and a nurse are among the military personnel. The Loran-C Radio Transmitter Station, the Meteorological Station, and the Coastal Services Radio Station are located a few kilometers away from the Norwegian settlement of Olonkinbyen (The Olonkin City), where all personnel live. Transport to the island is provided by C-130 Hercules military transport planes operated by the Royal Norwegian Air Force, that land at Jan Mayensfield, which only has a gravel runway. The planes fly in from Bodø Main Air Station eight times a year. Since the airport doesn't have any instrument landing possibilities, visibility is required, and it is not uncommon for the planes to have to return to Bodø, two hours away, without landing. For heavy goods, freight ships come during the summer, but there are no harbors and the ships must anchor out. Naval Supplementary Radio Station (DF), Nov 1943 Dec 1945 "Atlantic City", Jan Mayen Island, Norway Navy High Frequency Direction Finder Station Jan Mayen Island, Norway =================================================================================== Johnston Island, Johnston Atoll, USA Johnston Atoll is a 130 kilometer atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about 825 miles southwest of Hawaii. There are four islands located on the coral reef platform, two natural islands, Johnston Island and Sand Island, which have been expanded by coral dredging, as well as North Island (Akau) and East Island (Hikina), artificial islands formed from coral dredging. Johnston Island, only 2½ miles long and a half-mile wide, is an unincorporated territory of the U.S., administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior, as part of the U.S. Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges. For statistical purposes, Johnston Atoll is grouped as one of the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands. Its climate is tropical, but generally dry. Northeast trade winds are consistent and there is little seasonal temperature variation. The island was named for Captain James Johnston, who claimed its official discovery on December 10, 1807. The Johnston Atoll was claimed by both the U.S. and the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1858. The Atoll's guano deposits, mined by U.S. interests operating under the Guano Islands Act, were worked until depletion in about 1890. On July 29, 1926, President Calvin Coolidge established the Johnston Atoll as a Federal bird refuge and placed it under the control of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. On December 29, 1934 President Franklin D. Roosevelt transferred control of Johnston Atoll to the U.S. Navy to establish an Air Station and also to the Department of the Interior to administer the bird refuge. In 1936, the U.S. Navy began developing a seaplane base, an airstrip and refueling facilities on the atoll; with reef blasting, dredging, landfilling and grading, and construction on the islands. The atoll was briefly shelled by Japanese Naval units, shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack, but combat soon shifted west and the island's role changed from an outpost to an aircraft and submarine stopover and refueling base. It was designated as a Naval Defensive Sea Area and Airspace Reservation on February 14, 1941. On August 15, 1941, Naval Air Facility Johnston Island, was established. On December 1, 1942, the U.S. Naval Supplementary Radio Station and co-located High Frequency Direction Finder Station, was established at Johnston Island. After World War II, on January 1, 1946, the U.S. Naval Supplementary Radio Station and co-located High Frequency Direction Finder Station at Johnston Island closed, and the facilities were transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard. Johnston Island was transferred again in 1948, to the U.S. Air Force. In the late 50's and early 60's a series of highitude nuclear tests brought new activity and attention to Johnston Atoll. A series of dredge and fill projects completed in 1964 brought the size of Johnston Island up to 625 acres from its original 46, increased Sand Island from 10 to 22 acres, and added two manmade islands, North (Akau) and East (Hikina) of 25 and 18 acres. The Air Force retained operational control of Johnston Atoll until 1962. >From 1962 to 1963, Joint Task Force 8 and the Atomic Energy Commission jointly held operational control of Johnston Atoll, for the purpose of conducting high-altitude atmospheric nuclear weapons testing operations. Joint Task Force 8 retained operational control of Johnston Atoll from 1963 to 1970. In 1970, Johnston Atoll was again transferred to the Air Force. Host-management responsibility for Johnston Atoll was given by the Deputy Secretary of Defense in July 1973 to DSWA (formerly the Defense Nuclear Agency), which continues to perform that mission. In 1999, the host base management responsibilities for Johnston Atoll transferred from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) back to the U.S. Air Force. As a tenant unit, the U.S. Army operated the Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System (JACADS) unit on the atoll. Planning commenced in 1981, construction began in 1986 and Operational Verification Testing (OVT) commenced in June 1990. From 1990 until 1993, the Army conducted four planned periods of OVT. OVT was completed in March, 1993. The facility began full-scale operations in August, 1993 and completed the disposition and destruction of 100% percent of chemical agent and munitions stored on the island by the end of 2003. The atoll has no indigenous inhabitants, although during the late 20th century there was an average of 300 U.S. military and 1,000 civilian contractor personnel present at any given time. The atoll's economic activity was limited to providing services to U.S. military personnel and contractors located on the island. All food and manufactured goods were imported. The runway facility was also available to commercial airlines for emergency landings (a fairly common event). On January 1, 2004, jurisdiction of the atoll was transferred from the Air Force to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. All structures and facilities, including those used in JACADS, were removed and the runway was marked closed. The base was closed, and the airport inactivated on June 15, 2004. Naval Supplementary Radio Station (DF), Johnston 01 Dec 1942 01 Jan 1946 Island High Frequency Direction Finder Station, Johnston Island at Naval Air Facility, Johnston Island Transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard =================================================================================== Kanaga Island, Alaska Kanaga Island is a part of the Andreanof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. The island measures roughly 30 miles long and between 4 and 8 miles wide, with an area of 142 square miles, making it the 41st largest island in the U.S. The island's most notable feature is Mount Kanaga, a 4,288 foot high volcano, which last erupted in 1995. Mount Kanaga is a stratovolcano at the northern tip of Kanaga Island in the Aleutian Islands. It is situated within a caldera, which forms the arcuate Kanaton Ridge south and east of Kanaga. A crater lake occupies part of the soytheast caldera floor. The summit of Kanaga has a crater with fumarolic activity. It is located about 16 miles west of the former U.S. Navy installation and port on Adak Island. The volcano erupted intermittently through much of 1994, dusting the community of Adak at least once with fine ash. Navy Direction Finding Station, Kanaga Island, AK at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Kanaga Island, AK =================================================================================== Kenner, Louisiana Kenner is a suburb of New Orleans that has a population of 70,517 (census 2000). Kenner is located on the west side of the New Orleans metropolitan area, in Jefferson Parish. Its boundaries are Lake Pontchartrain to the north; the Mississippi River to the south; the unincorporated areas of Metairie and River Ridge to the east; and St. Charles Parish to the west. Kenner is home to the Louis Armstrong International Airport. Land north of what is now Airline Highway was swampland. The area where the city of Kenner was founded, was once a wilderness of cane reeds, some of which were over six feet in height. The French observed the natives burning these wild reeds to flush out rabbits and other small game animals. Cannes Brulees, the land of burnt cane reeds, referred to the area along the Mississippi from the Chapitoulas Coast up to what is today the St. Charles Parish line. On March 2, 1855, Kenner was founded by Minor Kenner on land that consisted of three sugar cane plantation properties that had been purchased by the William Kenner family, very successful New Orleans mercantile businessmen. The Kenner's acquired land in parcels. The Trudeau family's Oakland Plantation was acquired by William Butler Kenner (William's son) in 1841. By 1843, Belle Grove Plantation was acquired by Minor Kenner (William Butler's brother). By 1845, the Pasture Plantation property was also acquired by Minor Kenner, through his wife, Eliza, who was heir to the property. In 1853, a Yellow Fever epidemic struck New Orleans and the surrounding area. 11,000 died, including William Butler Kenner. Minor Kenner became the executor of William Butler's estate. Minor Kenner was possessed by the idea that Cannes Brulees should become a city. First, there was the proximity to New Orleans. Second, was the presence of the railroad (c1853). He hired a surveyor to lay out a plan for the development of Oakland and Belle Grove. The plan was completed on March 2, 1855, a date generally condidered the city's birthday. Kenner's vision took time to develop, but today, the basic layout of Old Kenner is very similar to the plan laid out in 1855. During 1915-1931, a New Orleans streetcar line operated between New Orleans and Kenner. The line ran between the intersection of Rampart and Canal in New Orleans and the intersection of Williams Blvd and Jefferson Highway in Kenner. In 1960, Kenner had a population of 17,037. Kenner's growth began in the late 1950's, when developers began subdividing, draining and filling the swampland in the northern half of the city. During the 1960's, the construction of Interstate 10 and improvements to Veterans Memorial Highway, aided the rapid development of Kenner as a suburb of New Orleans. By 1979, Kenner's population was 60,524 making it the 6th largest city in state. Naval Monitoring Station, Kenner, LA =================================================================================== Key West, Florida The U.S. Naval Air Station Key West (NAS Key West), Florida is located on Boca Chica Key, northeast of the city of Key West, 153 miles southwest of Miami and 90 miles north of Cuba. The Key is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east and southeast, the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west and the Florida Straits to the south. Initially designated a Naval Air Station (NAS), the facility was realigned as a Naval Air Facility on October 5, 2001, gaining the Joint Interagency Task Force-South from Howard AFB, Panama. On April 1, 2003, the Naval Air Facility was redesignated as Naval Air Station Key West FL. As you reach the last major island of the Florida Keys you are entering the very southernmost city of the continental U.S. Emerald colored waters where the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean meet below the 42 bridges of the Overseas Highway, make the drive between Miami and Key West especially beautiful. Key West measures 1.5 by 4 miles. Key West lies at the western end of a 125 mile chain of keys or low islands which extends southwestward from the southeastern tip of mainland Florida. The Keys are linked by the Overseas Highway, whose bridges and causeways straddle the numerous gaps in the chain. Key West's history hints of Spanish explorers, 19th Century pirates, ship wrecks and prospering salvages, cigar factories, sponge diving, fishing, and shrimp fleets. The name is derived from the mispronunciation of the name given Key West by Spanish explorers, "Cayo Hueso," which means "key of bones" or "Bone Island", so named because of the human bones found there. Key West was incorporated as a city in 1828. The U.S. Navy's continuous presence in Key West dates back to 1822, when a Naval Depot was established at Key West. In 1823, a Naval Base was established to stop piracy in this area. The lower Keys were home to many wealthy shipping merchants, whose fleets operated from these waters. This drew the interest of pirates such as Blackbeard and Captain Jon Kidd, who used the Keys as a base from which to prey on shipping lanes. The base was expanded during the Mexican War and the Spanish- American War. In 1898, the battleship Maine sailed from Key West to Havana, Cuba, where it sank. The sinking of the Maine resulted in the U.S. declaring war on Spain, and the entire U.S. Atlantic Fleet moved to Key West for the duration of the war. During World War I (1914-1918) the base was expanded again and in 1917, a U.S. Naval Submarine Base was established on what is now Naval Air Station property. Its mission during World War I was to supply oil to the U.S. fleet and to block German ships from reaching Mexican oil supplies. The nation's southernmost Naval Base proved to be an ideal year-round training facility with rapid access to the open sea-lanes and ideal flying conditions. The Navy's forces were expanded to include seaplanes, submarines and blimps. Ground was broken for construction of a small coastal air patrol station, on July 13, 1917, at what is now Trumbo Point, on land leased from the Florida East Coast Railroad Company. The project involved dredging, erection of station buildings, three seaplane ramps, a dirigible hangar, a hydrogenerator plant, and temporary barracks. On September 22, 1917, the base's log book recorded the first Naval flight ever made from Key West - a Curtis N-9 sea plane flown by Coast Guard Lt. Stanley Parker. About three months later, on December 18, 1917, Naval Air Base Key West was commissioned as a primary seaplane training station; and Lt. Parker became the first Commanding Officer. Naval Air Base pilots flew in search of German submarines resting on the surface to recharge batteries. The aircraft was armed only with a single machine gun, but gunners were supplied with hand grenades. The slow Curtis biplanes flew low over surfaced subs, and gunners dropped grenades into open conning towers. Naval aviation antisubmarine warfare was born. On January 18, 1918, the first class of student flight officers arrived for seaplane training, this launched the stations reputation as a premier training site for Naval aviators, which continues today. The base was primarily used for antisubmarine patrol operations and as an elemental flight training station. More than 500 aviators were trained at the station during World War I. The lessons of war are easily forgotten in peace. After Word War I, the base was decommissioned on June 15, 1920. Its personnel were released. Most of the buildings were destroyed or dismantled and moved to other locations. The remaining facilities were used only occasionally during 1920-1930 for seaplane training. The station remained inactive until 1939. The seaplane base was designated as a Naval Air Station on December 15, 1940, and recommissioned on December 23, 1940. NAS Key West served as an operating and training base for fleet aircraft squadrons. This set the stage for America's entry into World War II. Fortunately, the government retained the property, which proved to be a wise decision as the nation scrambled to re-arm in a state of emergency at the outbreak of World War II. The base was reopened to support Navy destroyers and PBY aircraft. Other satellite facilities were established to support other war efforts, including Meachim Field for lighter than air operations on Key West, and a runway for land- based aircraft on Boca Chica. By 1943, German submarines were operating so near Key West that they were sinking allied ships within sight of land. Submarine raids peaked in May of that year, when 49 ships were torpedoed off the coast of Florida. As the war decreased, so did the torpedo raids. In March 1945, the satellite fields were disestablished and combined into one aviation activity designated as U.S. Naval Air Station, Key West. After the war ended, NAS Key West was retained as a training facility. It responded to the 1962 Cuban Crisis, which posed the first doorstep threat to America in more than a century. Reconnaissance and operational flights were begun on October 22, 1962, in support of the blockade around Cuba. During the Cuban Crisis, Key West cemented its claim to the title "Gibraltar of the Gulf," coined a hundred years earlier by Commodore David Porter. Literally built up from the swamp, all of the NAS Key West sites, including Harry S. Truman Annex, Trumbo Point, Meachum Field, and Boca Chica, were now permanently etched in military history. Navy Direction Finding Station, Key West, FL 01 Feb 1925 at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Key West, FL =================================================================================== Kitty Hawk, Outer Banks, NC Kitty Hawk is a town in Dare County. The population was 2,991 at the 2000 census. It was established in the early 1700s as Chickahawk. The place was called Chickahauk by the native Indians, some believe "Kitty Hawk" is the closest English pronunciation of the Indian phrase meaning "goose hunting grounds. Others say that the local term for the ever-present dragonflies "skeeter hawk" was further twisted by the island brogue to sound like "kitty hawk". Kitty Hawk is located on the Northern Outer Banks of North Carolina. The Town of Kitty Hawk has a year round population of approximately 3,475, which increases to approximately 23,000 during the peak season months of May through October. Kitty Hawk was made famous on December 17, 1903, when the Wright brothers from Dayton, Ohio made the first controlled, powered airplane flights four miles away near the sand dunes known as the Kill Devil Hills. Orville and Wilbur Wright actually flew that first successful flight from nearby Kill Devil Hills. From here, the brothers came to the nearest telegraph office, Kitty Hawk, to let their father know of their success. The Wright Brothers then returned to Dayton where they actually developed a practical airplane through testing at Huffman Prairie through 1904-05. Coast Guard Station Kity Hawk was located on the beach, east of Kitty Hawk, NC., and 16 1/4 miles north northwest of Bodie Island Light. The Station was built in 1878, and was turned over to the GSA in 1964. the first keeper was appointed on September 30, 1875. Naval Monitoring Station, Kitty Hawk, NC Mar 1942 Apr 1942 =================================================================================== Klipsan Beach, Washington Klipsan Beach was the site of a station of the United States Life-Saving Service. The station buildings still remain, although they are privately owned. The station is on the National Register of Historic Places. The station's name was originally Ilwaco Beach, and only later became known as Klipsan Station. The station was one of several assigned to protect the area known as the Graveyard of the Pacific. The station, located 13 miles north of Cape Disappointment, was first started in 1889 on a volunteer basis, and called the Ilwaco Beach station. On November 3, 1891, the ship Strathblane went aground near the station. The volunteer crew was unable to get their lines out to the ship, and seven people died. As a result of this, a decision was made to put the station on a full-time professional basis. The first professional keeper was appointed on December 18, 1891. In 1929, the station was discontinued as an active unit, and was abandoned in 1949. The station is no longer on the beach, which has receded a long way since active operations ceased. A photo from the beach, when the station was active, shows the beach extending to the station's watchtower and boat house. This is no longer the case. The station itself, as well as the boathouse and watchtower remained as of 2000, and were in private ownership. Navy Direction Finding Station, Klipsan Beach, WA 04 Aug 1923 at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Klipsan Beach, WA =================================================================================== Koko Head, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii Navy Direction Finding Station, Koko Head, HI at U.S. Naval Radio Station, Koko Head, HI =================================================================================== Kwajalein Island, Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands Kwajalein Atoll, often nicknamed Kwaj by English-speaking residents of the U.S. facilities, is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. The atoll lies in the Ralik Chain, 2,100 nautical miles southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii. Kwajalein Atoll is one of the world's largest coral atolls as measured by area of enclosed water. Comprising 97 islets, it has a land area of 16.4 square kilometers, and surrounds one of the largest lagoons in the world, with an area of 2174 square kilometers. Kwajalein Atoll is 66 miles long and has a maximum width of 18 miles. More than 80 islands and islets lie along the partially submerges reef, which surrounds a lagoon of about 655 square miles. The origin of the name Kuwajleen, which apparently derives from the Japanese Ri-ruk-jan-leen, which means "the people who harvest the flowers". Kwajalein Island is the southernmost, and the largest, of the islands in the Kwajalein atoll. The northernmost, and second largest, island is Roi-Namur. The population of Kwajalein island is approximately 2,500, mostly Americans and a small number of Marshall Islanders and other nationals, all of whom have express permission from the U.S. Army to live there. The primary mode of personal transportation is the bicycle and housing is free for most personnel, depending on contract or tour of duty. Even immediately prior to militarization, the islands of Kwajalein, and particularly the main island, served as a rural copra trading outpost administered by Japanese civilians under the Japanese Mandated "South Seas" Islands of Micronesia for nearly thirty years. The earliest known Japanese record of Kwajalein and the Marshall Islands appears in the writings of Suzuki Keikun, who was dispatched to the Marshall Islands in 1885 to investigate a Japanese shipwreck. And though this visit was followed by two decades of German colonial rule in the Marshalls, in 1914, Japan peacefully took control of the islands from Germany and established administrative control in 1922, under a League of Nations Mandate. Japanese settlers were few in Kwajalein Atoll, comprising mostly traders and their families who worked at local branches of shops headquartered at nearby Jaluit Atoll. There were also local administrative staff, and with the establishment of Kwajalein's public school in 1935, schoolteachers were also sent to the island from Japan. Most Marshall Islanders who recall those times describe a peaceful time of cooperation and development between Japanese and Marshallese. In the late 1930s, Japan began to centralize military power in Micronesia in line with its expansionism. Japanese civilian engineers and conscripted Korean and Japanese laborers worked together with Marshallese to build fortifications throughout the atoll, although archaeological evidence and testimonies from Japanese and Marshallese sources indicates that this project would not likely have begun until the 1940s, and was not even complete at the time of the American invasion in 1944. A second wave of Japanese Naval and ground forces was dispatched to Kwajalein in early 1943 from the Manchurian front, most of whom were between the ages of 18-21 and had no experience in the tropics. Kwajalein Atoll was highly developed as a military base by the Japanese. A major Air Base existed on Roi Island, and on Namur, connected by a causeway to Roi, were barracks, warehouses, a radio station, and a 450-foot L-shaped pier extending into the lagoon. Kwajalein Island contained many buildings, some of which were used as warehouses for a supply center. A 2,000 foot pier extended from the lagoon side of the island. An airstrip, 400 by 5,000 feet, had also been completed. Ebeye Island was the site of a seaplane base with hangars, two ramps, and an L-shaped pier. When the first runway was built on Kwajalein islet by mostly Korean laborers, the Japanese public school and all civil administration was shifted to Namu Atoll, and Islanders were forcibly moved, to live on some of the smaller islets in the atoll. On January 30th and 31st, and on February 1, 1944, Kwajalein Atoll was the target of heavy surface bombardment and air attack, the most concentrated bombardment of the Pacific War. Thirty-six thousand shells from Naval ships and ground artillery on a nearby islet struck Kwajalein. American B-24 Liberator bombers aerially bombarded the island, adding to the destruction. On February 1. The 121st Construction Battalion accompanied the first waves of Marines from the Fourth Marine Division, landing on Roi and Namur. By February 2, Roi and Namur had been secured, despite strong Japanese counter-attack on Namur. Kwajalein Island was under Seventh Army Division control by February 5, and the entire atoll was secured by February 8, 1944. Of the 8,782 Japanese personnel deployed to the atoll (including Korean laborers), it has been argued that only 2,200 were combat trained. Despite this likelihood, Japanese resistance was strong and resilient, even given the fact that Japanese troops were outnumbered by tens of thousands of American troops. By the end of the battle 373 Americans were killed, 7,870 Japanese and Koreans were killed, and an estimated 200 Marshallese were killed. Kwajalein was one of the few locations in the Pacific war where Islanders were killed while actually fighting for the Japanese. On February 6, 1944, Kwajalein was claimed by the U.S. and liberated from Japanese rule. While some Americans mistakenly claim that Kwajalein was "taken back" by the U.S., the Marshall Islands had never been a U.S. territory prior to the initiation of the U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, that followed World War II. The existing air strip on Roi was ripped up and resurfaced by the 121st Construction Battalion. The first fighter squadron arrived on February 13, 1944 and operated from the base as construction continued. The U.S. Naval Supplementary Radio Station, Kwajalein Island, Marshall Islands with a co-located Direction Finding Station and a Radio Intelligence Station (Naval Communications Unit 40), was established on February 29, 1944, less than one month after the American invasion. The initial cadre lived in tents, and later, Quonset huts. On March 5, 1944, a detachment of 15 officers and 487 men of the 95th Construction Battalion arrived on Namur, to construct an aviation supply depot, which was commissioned on June 10. The 74th and 107th Construction Battalions reported on Kwajalein Island in March, 1944. Four officers and 242 men of the 107th Battalion were sent to Ebeye Island to develop the seaplane base. The 74th and remaining 107th Seabees rebuilt the existing Japanese runway on Kwajalein Island, providing a 6300-foot coral-surfaced strip with two 80-foot taxiways for heavy bombers. One hangar with minor aircraft-repair installations, was erected, and more than 12 miles of coral roads were built in the area. In April, 1944, the atoll commander was instructed to move his headquarters from Kwajalein Island to Ebeye. A detachment of the 74th Battalion was sent there to handle the construction necessary to the development of the headquarters, pending completion of the seaplane base by the 107th Seabees. On May 15, 1944, U.S. Naval Air Bases (NABs) at Ebeye and Roi-Namur were established and commissioned. 100 planes were now based on Roi-Namur, including fighters, light bombers, and patrol planes. Daily missions operated against the Japanese installations on Wotje, Jaluit, and Truk. By June, 1944, all personnel at NAB Roi-Namur were housed in floored and framed tents and in wooden frame barracks. Other base installations at NAB Roi-Namur included a 200-bed 22nd Station Hospital, 80,000 square feet of covered storage, and a 12,000- barrel aviation-gasoline tank farm. Between June and September 1944, the two Seabee battalions sent detachments to erect a large fuel-oil tank farm on Bigej Island, north of Kwajalein Island. This consisted of four 50,000-barrel tanks and fourteen 10,000-barrel tank, with all appurtenances. Further installations at NAB Ebeye consisted of housing in floored tents and Quonset huts, a 150-bed dispensary, four magazines, 24,000 square feet of covered storage, and a 4,000-barrel aviation-gasoline tank farm. On December 1, 1944, the U.S. Naval Operating Base, Kwajalein, Marshall Islands was established, commisioned and fully operational. At the conclusion of World War II, on December 8, 1945, the U.S. Naval Supplementary Radio Station, Direction Finding Station and the Radio Intelligence Station were was disestablished and closed. Kwajalein Island and Roi-Namur Island are the two main islands used by the U.S. personnel and their families. They are accommodated in trailers or hard housing. Most unaccompanied personnel live in apartment (barracks) style housing. Since 1944, when American forces captured the atoll from the Japanese in the Battle of Kwajalein, it has been used for military purposes by the U.S., while escaping the fates of the nearby atolls of Bikini, Rongelap and Enewetak as the atoll has never been a site for nuclear detonations or covered with any significant nuclear fallout from the tests conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy during the 1940s and 1950s. It was, however, the main support site for this weapons-testing program, namely Operation Crossroads. Eleven of the 97 islands are leased by the U.S. and are part of the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site (RTS), formerly known as Kwajalein Missile Range. RTS includes radar installations, optics, telemetry, and communications equipment, which are used for ballistic missile and missile interceptor testing and space operations support. Kwajalein hosts one of three ground antennas (others are on Diego Garcia and Ascension Island) that assist in the operation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) navigational system. More recently, the extensive infrastructure has attracted SpaceX, which built a commercial launch site on Omelek Island for its Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 rockets. Although the Marshall Islands was officially granted independence from the U.S., and became an independent republic in 1986, Kwajalein Atoll is still used by the U.S. for missile testing and various other operations. While this military history has deeply influenced the lives of the Marshall Islanders who have lived in the atoll through the war to the present, the military history of Kwajalein has made tourism almost non-existent and has kept the environment in relatively pristine condition. American civilians and their families who reside at the military installations in Kwajalein are able to enjoy this environment with few restrictions. Kwajalein lagoon offers excellent wreck diving of mostly Japanese ships, a few planes and the German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. Spear fishing and deep sea fishing are also exceptional. 80 degree water temperature and 100 foot visibility are common when scuba diving on the ocean side of the atoll. A neighboring island Ebeye has the largest population in the atoll, with approximately 13,000 residents (mostly Marshall Islanders and a small population of migrants and volunteers from other island groups and nations) living on 80 acres of land. Ebeye is one of the most densely populated places in the world. Roi-Namur used to be 3 separate islands: Roi, Namur and Enidrikdrik. After WWII, while the U.S. controlled the atoll, they mostly paved over Enidrikdrik and renamed the resulting island Roi- Namur. Since 1961, several tests of anti-ballistic missiles were performed on Kwajalein Atoll. There are still launchpads on Illeginni Island, Roi-Namur Island and Kwajalein Island. All non-leased islands are strictly off-limits to American base residents and personnel without applying for official permission. For an excellent history (and exquisitely detailed accounting) of the U.S. military at Kwajalein Atoll, see the following URL and the succeeding webpages. Naval Supplementary Radio Station (DF), Kwajalein 29 Feb 1944 08 Dec 1945 Island, Marshall Islands Direction Finding Station established: 29 Feb 1944 Radio Intelligence Station, Naval 29 Feb 1944 08 Dec 1945 Communications Unit (NAVCOMMUNIT 40) Kwajalein, Island, Marshall Islands =================================================================================== Lakehurst, New Jersey Lakehurst is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey. As of the U.S. 2000 Census, the borough population was 2,522. Lakehurst was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 7, 1921, from portions of Manchester Township, based on the results of a referendum held on May 24, 1921. Prior to that, it was the Village of Manchester. Ocean County was established in 1850. Lakehurst is a quiet little village that has seen the iron furnaces prosper and fail, the charcoal industry rise and fall, the railroad shops come and go, and the lighter than air craft hailed and bid farewell. There are tall elms along the streets, planted in the Civil War period, when real estate men tried to put new life into the old settlement of Manchester after the iron and charcoal industries died. The town was almost wiped out, but in 1860 the "new railroad", the Jersey Central, placed its repair shops here and Manchester again flourished. The shops have been closed since 1932; there is no industrial plant in the village now and little farming around it. Home of Federal Forge during the Revolutionary War, this area quickly became an early industrial center with a large rope factory, railroad shops, and many local businesses. In 1850, Manchester (Lakehurst) nearly became the County Seat of Ocean County. The town of Lakehurst first reached international fame as a winter resort around the turn of the 20th century, following the opening of the Pine Tree Inn in 1898. In 1911, the rope factory in the town burned down, prompting the formation of a volunteer fire department. Lakehurst was the home to the U.S. Navy's lighter-than-air program from 1919 until 1962. Among the largest machines ever created by man, Lakehurst provided the setting for the Golden Age of Airships. Much of Lakehurst's early history was closely tied to the Naval Air Station and the LTA program. Lakehurst is frequently cited as the site of the Hindenburg disaster, when on May 6, 1937, the German zeppelin Hindenburg caught fire at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station. In fact, the Hindenburg exploded over portions of Manchester Township, not Lakehurst. None of the Lakehurst Naval Air Station lies within the Borough of Lakehurst. In 1923, the first American built, rigid, lighter-than-air ship, the Shenandoah, made her initial flight from Lakehurst. The ZR-3 arrived from Germany on October 15, 1924, and became the Los Angeles. The Akron left tLakehurst station and fell into the ocean off Barnegat in 1933. The Macon, which crashed in the Pacific, made test flights from Lakehurst before proceeding to her base in California. Four small airships were stationed here in 1938: the K-1, the J-4, the G-1, and the ZMC-2, plus three airplanes for aerological observations. In 1936 and 1937, Lakehurst Station was used as the landing field for the commercial flights of German airship Hindenburg, destroyed here by fire on May 6, 1937, in the space of 4 minutes with the loss of 36 lives. The tragedy occurred as the ship was 250 feet above the ground, maneuvering toward the mooring mast. The crowd, gathered to watch the landing, stood helplessly as travelers leaped flaming from the gondola or were burned alive. The cause of the spectacular airship disaster has never been completely determined. With the passing of the Hindenburg, Lakehurst lost its importance as a base for commercial lighter-than-air craft. The station’s many scattered buildings are dominated by gigantic hangars, the largest 961 feet long, 350 feet wide, and 200 feet high, which could house simultaneously all five airships assigned to the base and still have empty space. The steel frame of the hangar is encased in a silver-colored asbestos-composition material. The double doors are not attached to the building but are mounted on rollers. Each door weighs 2,700 tons and is operated by four 20-horsepower motors. Inside the large hangar on the south wall is a bronze memorial tablet dedicated to the 14 men lost with the Shenandoah. Little known fact: Lakehurst is the only Naval Air Station where the Navy raised and trained carrier pigeons. Navy Lakehurst occupies 7,430 government owned acres, in the million acre Pinelands National Reserve, in central New Jersey. The base is 45 miles east of Philadelphia, 50 miles south of New York City, 60 miles north of Atlantic City and 10 miles west of the Atlantic ocean. It abuts Fort Dix to the west, forming a 42,000 acre Fort Dix/McGuire Air Force Base/Navy Lakehurst complex. The New Jersey Wildlife and Game Refuge is to the north and the Manchester Fish and Wildlife Preserve to the south. Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst or NAES Lakehurst, also known as Maxfield Field, is a military airport located three miles west of the central business district of Lakehurst, in Ocean County, New Jersey. It was formerly the Lakehurst Naval Air Station, and was later known as the Naval Air Engineering Center, Lakehurst. Despite the name, it is actually located in nearby Manchester Township. Maxfield Field (in the center of the base) was commissioned on January 6, 1944, and named for Commander Louis H. Maxfield, USN, Naval Aviator, who lost his life in the crash of the dirigible R-38, August 24, 1921. Lakehurst began as a remote ammunition proving ground for the Russian Imperial Government in 1915. From 1915 to the summer of 1917, Eddystone Ammunition Corporation leased 4,000 acres to build firing ranges, and a Russian artillery group arrived to test Eddystone ammunition sold to their government. In 1917, when The U.S. entered World War I, the former ammunition proving grounds in Manchester and Jackson townships were acquired by the U.S. Army, renamed Camp Kendrick, and used as an ammunition and gas warfare testing proving ground. In September, 1917, the U.S. Army Ordnance Department began plans for gas warfare testing, and on March 30, 1918, construction began at Lakehurst Proving Ground. On April 25, 1918, firing Trials began, and on May 6, 1918, the site was designated the Lakehurst Experimental Edgewood Arsenal. On July 26, 1918, approval was granted to construct Camp Kendrick. Construction began in August, 1918. In October, 1918, all functions of the Army Gas School were transferred to Camp Kendrick. On November 11, 1918, World War I ended on Armistice Day, and all Camp Kendrick U.S. Army personnel were transferred to the Lakehurst Proving Grounds. All experimental gas warfare testing activity ceased; and in January 1919, construction at Camp Kendrick halted. In September, 1919, Camp Kendrick was transferred to the U.S. Navy and construction of Hanger 1 began. The U.S. Navy, which had acquired Camp Kendrick from the Army two years earlier, commissioned it in June, 1921 as the U.S. Naval Air Station Lakehurst NJ. Between 1921 and 1961, Lakehurst operated as a Lighter Than Air Center for rigid airships, and became the Nation's first trans-Atlantic international airport. At one time or another, all of the Navy's rigid airships were housed in Hangar One, as well as Germany's two most famous ones, the Hindenburg and the Graf Zeppelin. In 1961, the Navy's LTA program was terminated. On August 30, 1962, the last flight of a Navy airship was made at NAS Lakehurst, NJ. Today, Hangar One is a registered historical landmark, and the home of the Carrier Aircraft Launch and Support Systems Equipment Simulator, a one-quarter scale model carrier deck used for training Navy personnel. Nearby is the Hindenburg Memorial which marks the site of the 1937 crash. With the demise of dirigibles, Lakehurst turned its focus to aircraft carriers, helicopters, and airplanes. The Naval Aircraft Factory was established at Philadelphia, PA on July 27, 1917. Ground was broken on August 10, 1917, and less than eight months later the first airplane rolled off the assembly line. In 1953, the Naval Aircraft Factory was renamed as the Naval Air Material Center. In 1962, the Naval Air Material Center became, more appropriately with its mission of research and development, the Naval Air Engineering Center, Philadelphia PA. In 1967, the Naval Air Engineering Center was completely reorganized. Aeronautical structures and aeronautical crew equipment labs went to the Naval Air Development Center (NADC), Warminster, PA. Aeronautical engine labs were sent to the Naval Air Propulsion Test Center (NAPTC) Trenton. NAEC relocated to Lakehurst in April, 1973. Meanwhile, in 1958, the Naval Air Test Facility (NATF) (on the west side of the Lakehurst base) was built and established. In April, 1973, the Naval Air Engineering Center (NAEC) in Philadephia was relocated to Lakehurst. On March 10, 1977, NAS and NATF Lakehurst were disestablished and merged into the Naval Air Engineering Center (NAEC), Lakehurst, and NAEC became the host command. On January 1, 1992, the Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) was established, and the NAEC became the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Lakehurst. In 1994, NAWCAD Lakehurst became the Naval Air Engineering Station (NAES) for shore station management and the Aircraft Platform Interface (API) Group for technical mission support. In February 2004, installation commanders from Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst, the Army's Fort Dix, and McGuire Air Force Base formed a partnership to generate joint solutions for common problems between the three contiguous bases and their tenant commands. In 2005, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst would be affected by a Base Realignment and Closure. It will be merged with two neighboring military bases, McGuire Air Force Base and Fort Dix, establishing Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. This will be the first base of its kind in the U.S. Rotary wing air platform development, acquisition, test and evaluation will ber transferred to Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), Patuxent River, MD. Navy Direction Finding Station, Lakehurst NJ 1921 1938 =================================================================================== Leyte, Philippine Islands, Republic of the Philippines Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the island of Leyte, in the Visayas group of the Philippine Islands. The island measures about 110 miles north-south and about 40 miles at its widest point. In the north it nearly joins Samar, separated by the San Juanico Strait, which becomes as narrow as 1.2 miles in some places. The island province of Biliran is also to the north of Leyte and is joined to Leyte island by a bridge across the narrow Biliran Strait. To the south Leyte is separated from Mindanao by the Surigao Strait. To the east, Leyte is somewhat "set back" from the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, Samar to the northeast and Dinagat to the southeast forming the Leyte Gulf. To the west are Cebu and Bohol. Leyte is mostly heavily forested and mountainous, but the Leyte Valley in the northeast has much agriculture. Politically, the island is divided into two provinces: Leyte and Southern Leyte. Southern Leyte is in the south and includes the island of Panaon, while the province of Biliran, a separate island which used to be a part of Leyte province, is to the north. The chief cities of Leyte are Tacloban City, on the eastern shore at the northwest corner of Leyte Gulf, and Ormoc City, on the west coast. Prior to the arrival of Westerners, Filipinos had robust trading activities with merchants from China and neighboring nations. On March 28, 1521, Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese navigator in the service of the Spanish crown, found the Leyte gateway. Soon after, he reached Limasawa, a 5-square-mile island at the southern tip of Leyte mainland. Here Magellan met the native ruler, Rajah Kolambu, and his brother, Rajah Siagu, chieftain of Butu (in Mindanao). In this little island, the first recorded blood compact of treaty of friendship between Magellan and Rajah Kolambu took place, the first mass was celebrated, and Magellan, after planting a cross on a hilltop, took possession of the territory in the name of Spain. The explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, first came to the island in 1543 and named it Las Islas Felipinas. In 1595, the Jesuits established the first mission in Leyte. At this time, there were only 19 pueblos with 70,000 people whom the missionaries converted to Christianity, easing the settlement of the province by Spanish conquistadors. Politically, Leyte seems to have existed as early as 1622. By Royal Decree of July 31, 1860, which ordered the reorganization of provincial governments of the Visayas, Leyte was classified as a third class province; it had 28 pueblos or villages then. The politico-military government existed until the end of the Spanish rule in the Philippines. The capital site of Leyte changed several times before Tacloban City became the permanent capital in 1787. The first capital was Carigara, then successively, Palo and Tanauan. From October 23, 1944 to February 27, 1945, Tacloban became the temporary seat of the Philippine Commonwealth. On May 22, 1959, by virtue of Republic Act No. 2227, the island province was divided into Leyte and Southern Leyte. The civil government under the Americans was organized on April 22, 1901. The Americans at once saw the need for a road network linking the eastern and western parts of the islands separated geographically by mountain range and culturally by two distinct dialects: the Lineyte-Samarnon and Cebuano. The road was formally inaugurated on April 5, 6 and 7, 1937. The Second World War hit the Philippines in 1941; the Japanese occupation followed. Col. Ruperto Kangleon organized a guerilla organization that harassed the Japanese forces in Leyte. On October 20, 1944, General Douglas MacArthur waded ashore on Leyte, saying "I have returned". However, the Japanese did not give up so easily, as the ensuing Battle of Leyte proved, and convergence of Naval forces resulted in the four-day Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest Naval battle in history. The Battle of Leyte Gulf took place in the seas surrounding this island from October 23, 1944 to October 26, 1944. It was the largest Naval battle in modern history, when at least 212 Allied ships clashed with the remnants of the Imperial Japanese Navy, some 60 ships, including the super battleships Yamato and Musashi. The island was the crucial element to the eventual Filipino and American victory in the Philippines. On October 29, 1944, Naval Operating Base, Leyte P.I. was established. Naval Supplementary Radio Station (DF) Leyte, PI 16 Jul 1945 17 Sep 1945 Navy Direction Finding Station Leyte, PI =================================================================================== Compiled by: Michael R. "MO" Morris, CTOCS, USN, Retired CTO SeaDogs WebSite Manager, CTO SeaDogs DataBase Manager, CTO SeaDogs Historian Waldorf, Maryland E-Mail: CTOCS_MO@hotmail.com ================================================================================== Visit the CTO SeaDogs Community WebSite at: http://groups.msn.com/CTOSeaDogs ==================================================================================